One piece of clothing can make or break an entire NFL season. Just ask LA Chargers fans about Justin Herbert's leg sleeve.
We live in a world where everything in sports gets dissected to the nth degree. How a player reacts on the sideline, how a coach dresses, what teams do off the field; all of it piles together in one large information hive that prompts fans to come to various conclusions.
Chargers fans are experiencing this firsthand with Herbert. The 2020 first-round pick has suffered various injuries throughout his NFL career, including fractured rib cartilage, a torn labrum, and two different broken fingers. Herbert has played through most of these ailments, although he is not a superhero; his broken finger on his throwing hand ended his season prematurely in 2023.
Now, Chargers fans have a completely new concern. Herbert has long sported a compression sleeve on his right knee, both on the field and off. What seemed like an innocent accessory choice now serves as fuel for a conspiracy theory that, if true, could legitimately derail the Chargers' 2025 season.
Justin Herbert's leg sleeve is the weirdest Chargers storyline of 2025
This isn't just a fan conspiracy. Daniel Popper of The Athletic outright asked Herbert about the leg sleeve during the early phases of training camp in July. Herbert told Popper that he wears the leg sleeve just to keep everything warm.
That sounds like a totally valid explanation, and for weeks, Chargers fans' concerns over the leg sleeve were settled. That all changed in late August when Herbert was seen pictured with Madison Beer.
Beer and Herbert have been pictured together multiple times, fueling a celebrity dating rumor that is thriving in online spaces. For Chargers fans, the most notable aspect of the second sighting wasn't that they were potentially dating. Instead, fans gravitated toward the fact that Herbert was wearing the leg sleeve for his potential date.
Just keeping everything warm? How does that apply to what appeared to be a game night, considering Herbert was carrying Rummikub? I've never played Rummikub, but I don't think it's physically taxing on the knee.
The Chargers' signal-caller dealt with plantar fasciitis during last year's preseason, particularly in his right foot. While plantar fasciitis isn't a knee injury, it could explain why Herbert is opting to wear a compression sleeve on his right knee.
Herbert also broke his femur in high school. Some fans are theorizing that the broken femur has long-term complications that are now manifesting with Herbert wearing the compression sleeve on his right leg.
Or it could be a mental block. If Herbert is worried about injuring the area, wearing a compression sleeve might give him more confidence than if he weren't wearing the sleeve. It's impossible to truly know, as Herbert hasn't provided much for Chargers fans to go off.
Is Herbert's right knee something to actually be worried about? It's impossible to know. On one hand, Herbert hasn't given any direct reasons himself to be worried about his health and availability for the upcoming season.
On the other hand, Herbert is one of the most athletic quarterbacks in the league, yet he never uses that part of his game. Could his right knee be a factor why? Or are the Chargers simply being as cautious as possible with their star quarterback?
The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle, but that's not stopping Chargers fans from peddling concerning conspiracy theories.