Justin Herbert is one of the best quarterbacks in the sport and it shouldn't even be up for debate. However, because of the lack of support the LA Chargers have given their star quarterback over the years, Herbert hasn't secured the universal praise his talent deserves.
There's not helping your quarterback, and then there is whatever the Chargers have done during Herbert's career. Fellow 2020 NFL Draft classmate Joe Burrow always gets the attention of not getting his franchise's support, but he's had it so much better than Herbert. And it bears out in the numbers.
With yet another pressure-filled game on Sunday, Herbert is officially up to 525 total quarterback hits since the start of the 2020 season. According to The Athletic's Daniel Popper, the only other quarterback with at least 490 hits in that same frame is Russell Wilson.
Even more concerningly, Herbert is on pace to finish his sixth season in the NFL with 625 total hits. Andrew Luck was hit 580 times in his six-year NFL career before abruptly retiring.
Chargers' Justin Herbert finds himself alongside Andrew Luck in QB hits
This is not the first time Herbert has been compared to Luck. In fact, Luck was the most prominent upside comparison for Herbert as he was coming into the league. The Chargers' signal-caller hasn't quite used his athleticism in the same way Luck did early on, but that has changed in the 2025 season.
Herbert has the top-tier arm talent that Luck had with the football IQ to go with it. Unfortunately, that is not where the comparison ends, as Herbert has also been treated the same way in the NFL as Luck once was.
The Colts did an awful job at protecting their star quarterback, resulting in him missing an entire season before eventually retiring before his 30th birthday. The Chargers have done an awful job at protecting their star quarterback, who turns 28 in March.
Herbert is not the same person as Luck and he may have more an appetite for taking these hits than the latter did. Just because Luck had a shocking retirmeent doesn't mean Herbert is going to do the exact same thing to send the Chargers into quarterback purgatory.
That being said, there are only so many hits a quarterback can take before it starts to have a tangible impact. It may not result in sudden retirement, but every hit Herbert takes is a risk at him getting injured. He has been fairly durable thus far in his career, but he has also been forced to play through multiple injuries because of the hits he is absorbing.
It's not just sustainable for the Chargers to continually put Herbert in this position. The Colts had to learn that the hard way, and now half a decade later, the Chargers need to make sure their star quarterback doesn't follow in the same path.