The Los Angeles Chargers have handled a very good quantity of adversity thus far this season. With 5 of their eight losses coming by three factors or fewer, large receivers Mike Williams and Josh Palmer discovering their solution to injured reserve and accidents here-and-there inflicting absences of stars like Austin Ekeler and Joey Bosa, Los Angeles wanted to point out some resiliency with the intention to keep within the playoff race this weekend. As an alternative, they have been dealt yet one more damage, this one to maybe their most vital participant.
Quarterback Justin Herbert was compelled to exit Sunday’s sport when he apparently injured his finger. On the time, we didn’t know a lot as Herbert was dominated out and undressed from his pads however remained on the sideline to observe his backup Easton Stick. Now, it’s been reported that Herbert suffered a fracture to the index finger on his throwing hand, in line with Kris Rhim of ESPN.
Head coach Brandon Staley was the one to report the damage, although he didn’t have any info on a timetable for Herbert’s return to play. Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Community, the plan is for Herbert to bear an MRI scan Monday on the injured finger with the intention to decide the severity of the damage. Extra particularly, Rapoport’s put up said that they’ll look to find out “how lengthy he’s out and if he’ll be capable of return this season,” portray the potential end result in a reasonably damaging gentle.
If the Chargers are compelled to play video games with out Herbert, Stick would possible be the starter shifting ahead. Since being drafted within the fifth spherical again in 2019, Stick had solely appeared in a single sport earlier than Sunday. He performed two snaps in Week 6 of the 2020 season, finishing his lone tried move for 4 yards. Sunday, he noticed his first prolonged motion. In simply over a half of play, Stick accomplished 13-of-24 move makes an attempt for 179 yards. He did lead the Chargers down the sector on a landing drive late within the sport by finishing two huge passes to rookie large receiver Quentin Johnston earlier than letting Ekeler punch it in from three yards out.
Even when Herbert solely requires a brief restoration interval, the Chargers face a brief week with their subsequent sport approaching Thursday evening in Las Vegas. If Stick earns his first begin within the upcoming week, he’ll need to be backed up by follow squad quarterback Max Duggan, the rookie teammate of rookie large receivers Johnston and Derius Davis. Duggan would should be known as up as an ordinary gameday elevation or signed to the lively roster with the intention to be on the lively roster this week.
There’s one other query that begs consideration. How a lot time does Herbert should be out – and what number of video games do the Chargers must lose – to close him down for the season. Los Angeles simply dedicated to making Herbert the highest-paid quarterback within the NFL (outdone shortly thereafter by Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow‘s deal), locking him down with a five-year extension. If the playoffs begin to seem out of attain, it could be in the very best curiosity of Herbert within the crew to carry him out for the remainder of the yr. Let him get well with little-to-no pressure and don’t danger doing any type of everlasting harm to your huge funding.
The Chargers don’t need to make that decision simply but. They’ll have a look at the outcomes of his scans Monday and have a a lot better thought of what the short-term future appears to be like like. Whereas he may have extra time than three days and will miss Thursday, there’s nonetheless an opportunity Herbert recovers simply and is again for the previous few weeks of the season. Nonetheless, with the pessimism displayed in Rapoport’s report and the season starting to wind down, it’s not out of the realm of chance to suppose that we’ve seen the final of Herbert this yr.