Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert has had a rough couple of weeks since he suffered a high ankle sprain against the Carolina Panthers. While Herbert did not miss any snaps in that game, he only managed to practice Thursday last week before suiting up against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Unfortunately, Herbert got hurt again and ended up giving way to Taylor Heinicke, who finished the game. That very much leaves Herbert’s status up in the air heading into their Week 4 game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Let’s examine whether Herbert is expected to suit up in Week 4 or if Heinicke could face the Chiefs this week.
What Happened to Justin Herbert?
The origin of the high ankle sprain for Herbert came in Week 2 against the Panthers. While trying to complete a pass as the pocket collapsed around him, Herbert’s ankle was landed on by a defender and twisted. He was treated on the sidelines between drives but did not miss any time.
#JustinHerbert
Week 2 mild right high sprain@PatrickMahomes played thru to win #SBLVII
Expecting @chargers QB to try pic.twitter.com/1612PG9EfR— David J. Chao – ProFootballDoc (@ProFootballDoc) September 21, 2024
The injury was diagnosed as a high ankle sprain, but quarterbacks tend to be able to play through them if they are mild. Therefore, despite only practicing in a limited fashion on Thursday last week, Herbert was active against the Steelers.
Unfortunately, with 6:49 remaining in the third quarter, Herbert was seen hobbling off the field and being tended to on the sidelines. He remained off the field for the rest of the game, with Heinicke taking over under center.
Entering this weekend, the Chargers faced a tough decision. Do they try to push Herbert through the injury again as they face the Chiefs, or do they rest him for a week and hope that he can get close to 100% before their next game?
Well, despite having a bye in Week 5, Herbert is expected to start this week against Kansas City, barring a pregame setback, reports NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.
#Chargers QB Justin Herbert is expected to start again this week against the #Chiefs, barring a pregame setback with his high-ankle sprain, per me, @TomPelissero and @MikeGarafolo.
LAC will be short-handed with several big names out. But Herbert likely plays if all goes well. pic.twitter.com/RiPoE2rw7z
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 28, 2024
It’s worth noting that the Chargers have a number of injuries along their offensive line. Both Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt are set to miss Week 4 (at least) as Los Angeles looks to get them back to 100% health.
Herbert will be facing the Chiefs without arguably his two best offensive linemen plus limited mobility, which isn’t ideal.
Fantasy Outlook
Herbert is pretty clearly laboring through this ankle injury, though I’m not sold how much different this offense would look if he was fully healthy. This is destined to be a low-octane unit that doesn’t offer much in the way of upside for our purposes.
Through three weeks, Herbert doesn’t have a 30-yard completion, 145 passing yards in a game, or a weekly finish better than QB18.
With the bye awaiting Los Angeles in Week 5, it’s shocking that the Chargers aren’t resting him this week with the hope of improving as the season progresses.
I’m okay with labeling what we’ve seen as a floor, but I’m not expecting Herbert to be a high-volume option at any point this season, which will keep him off the QB1 radar.
Herbert starting might help the Chargers’ pass-catchers, but they have refused to throw the ball to their receivers at times.
During their first two drives last week, not a single receiver was targeted — a major problem when we aren’t sure about the hierarchy of looks in this offense in the first place.
Herbert threw his first five passes last week to five different players. This is a low-volume offense without a clear role distinction for any of the receivers.
Ladd McConkey earned 31.6% of the targets in last week’s loss to the Steelers, which looks like a big number — much the way a 30-year-old sounds really old to a 9-year-old kid. It’s all contextual. That target rate doesn’t mean much in an offense completing 15 passes per game.
In a low-volume offense like LA’s, I’m more apt to pass on the target earners and chase those getting the few dangerous looks that present themselves.