For the first time in his six-year NFL career, Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert will start a preseason game. After a joint practice between the Chargers and Rams was cancelled this week, head coach Jim Harbaugh said that Herbert came to him with the idea of playing to get live reps.
The team considered playing starters last week against New Orleans prior to Rashawn Slater's patellar tendon injury. Harbaugh said they needed time to reconfigure the offensive line.
In addition to the starters needing to get their timing right, 53-man roster spots will be on the line when the second, third and fourth stringers come into the game. A few roster bubble players in particular will be looking to build off of quality efforts from last week.
Justin Herbert and five Chargers to watch vs the Rams:
QB Justin Herbert
It says a lot about the leader Herbert is that he took the initiative to get reps in the preseason. Earlier this week, he spoke to the media about wanting to go up against a real opposing pass rush. Given that he had never played a snap in the preseason before this year, most wouldn't have blinked if he and the staff decided to wait until the regular season again. But he clearly wants to get his feet wet and establish some rhythm for the offense before facing the Chiefs in Brazil.
Herbert will only play one or two series tonight before the second team comes in. But there's immense value in the team getting Herbert snaps with new receivers, running backs, and tight ends.
Perhaps most notably, this will be only the second time Herbert enters a game with Joe Alt at left tackle protecting his blind side. Alt started a game in Week 18 last year at left tackle when Rashawn Slater dealt with knee discomfort.
Herbert will also be on the same football field as Keenan Allen for the first time in 615 days.
WR Quentin Johnston
Quentin Johnston has had a relatively encouraging camp by most reports. There were several practices with multiple touchdowns. At the same time, the third-year receiver hasn't eliminated the drop problem. It was a story in at least a few practices in this training camp cycle.
Determining Johnston's role on the wide receiver depth chart this year will be more important than counting touchdowns and drops. The Chargers brought in Tre' Harris for an X/Z receiver role with their second-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Fifth-round pick KeAndre Lambert-Smith has also been a bright spot in the LA's training camp and preseason.
When Mike Williams retired, it seemed like the Chargers felt comfortable enough to continue rolling with Johnston, Harris, Lambert-Smith, and Ladd McConkey. But the dynamics of the WR room definitely shifted a bit when the team brought back veteran WR Keenan Allen on a one-year deal.
There are several new receivers in the room who will be competing with Johnston this year. Next offseason, the team will have a decision to make on the former TCU product's fifth-year option. If Johnston is going to remain a long-term fixture in the Chargers' WR room, it starts with a solid effort on Saturday night.
RT Trey Pipkins III
No one thought Trey Pipkins would be in this situation three weeks ago. After being phased out of the starting lineup this offseason, Pipkins has reemerged as the team's starting right tackle in the wake of the Slater injury. Alt shifts over to left tackle.
For the most part, Pipkins has been a decent, league-average starter at right tackle. It's certainly where the team would prefer him to play as opposed to right guard. In his two full seasons starting at right tackle in 2022 and 2023, Pipkins gave up 81 pressures on nearly 1400 snaps. Is that an All-Pro statline? No, but 35-45sh pressures given up this season would be a solid effort from the Chargers' right tackle given the circumstances.
No one expects perfection, but the team demands at least competency. For at least a drive or two tonight, Pipkins needs to show he can be trusted to come back into the starting lineup.
RB Raheim Sanders
Raheim Sanders had a solid rookie debut last week after previously dealing with an injury early in training camp. The Chargers clearly wanted to get him some run; Sanders led the running back room with 18 snaps on offense, including a drive that ended with his 4th quarter touchdown run.
Touchdown for @raheim_sanders aka Rocket 🚀 pic.twitter.com/V8CGrZNlQl
— NFL (@NFL) August 10, 2025
The question for tonight is if Sanders can continue to work his way up the rotation. Kimani Vidal didn't play on offense after the third quarter while Hassan Haskins is also valued for his special teams work. If Sanders wants to make the 53-man roster, he'll likely have to make some progress up the depth chart in these last two games.
Another thing to watch for Sanders is special teams usage. Special teams coordinator Ryan Ficken likes having running backs towards the end of the roster being involved in his rotations. Vidal and Haskins have been heavily involved in that phase this preseason.
Vidal leads the running back room with 17 special teams snaps played while Haskins is at 13. Both have been involved on all four special teams units. As Sanders gets healthier, can he start to get involved in more of Ficken's rotations? He played three ST snaps last week vs. New Orleans.
EDGE Caleb Murphy
Caleb Murphy has been the breakout star in the EDGE room this preseason. In two games, he's had five pressures, two sacks, four stops, and a forced fumble. As it stands right now, he's running away with the fourth edge spot on the team and will probably push the Chargers into keeping five on the main roster. Murphy has also been heavily involved in special teams with 14 snaps in two games in addition to his defensive impact.
If he continues his momentum, he'll become a lock for at least the initial roster. The Chargers would also like to see some effort from fourth-round pick Kyle Kennard in responding to Murphy's push. Kennard did not play last week as he was dealing with an injury.
LB Marlowe Wax
The math is a little bit harder for Marlowe Wax to make the 53-man roster relative to the aforementioned Murphy. It would likely require an injury in the current linebacker room to start the season. Most notably, ST linebacker Del'Shawn Phillips has missed the first two preseason games with an injury.
But even if he doesn't make the main roster, Wax can state his case to be a lock for the practice squad. The Syracuse product lit up the field last week with nine tackles and a sack. It felt like he was active on all three levels of the defense. Safety Derwin James shouted out Wax's performance so far in this training camp and preseason earlier this week.