Chargers add Justin Herbert to Week 1 injury report (but there's no reason to panic)

The biggest storyline around the LA Chargers during the 2024 preseason was Justin Herbert's plantar fascia injury and how it would potentially impact the 2024 season. Thankfully, Herbert's recovery went exactly as planned and the star quarterback said he was entering the 2024 season at 100%.

Herbert will start in Week 1 against the Las Vegas Raiders and based on his communication about the injury, it should not be a massive issue this season. It will be something to keep in the back of everyone's minds, but it truly does appear that the Chargers dodged a true nightmare scenario.

However, despite all of the positive vibes flowing out of the Chargers building on Wednesday, Herbert was actually a late addition to the Chargers injury report on Thursday morning. This initial fact may be daunting to some fans but don't worry: the Chargers were encouraged by the league itself to add Herbert and it should not change anything.

Justin Herbert being a late addition to the Chargers injury report means nothing

This is pretty standard protocol for the NFL as it is publicly known that Herbert is still dealing with the foot injury in some capacity. NFL teams are required to report all injuries to remove any gamesmanship and this is simply the league making sure the Chargers dot their Is and cross their Ts.

This will not change anything about Herbert's status for Week 1 against the Raiders. Herbert was listed as a full participant in practice and that is going to continue throughout the week. So when you see Herbert's name pop up on the Thursday and Friday injury report don't worry, it is protocol more than anything else.

What will be more interesting is if Herbert pops up on future injury reports. If Herbert plays in Week 1 then the league likely won't force the Chargers to put Herbert on the injury report in the future even if the star quarterback is dealing with lingering foot pain.

But if there are any cases throughout the week where the Chargers are being cautious and giving Herbert a day off at practice then he will have to be added to the injury report. And since Jim Harbaugh is not a fan of giving away too much injury information, this will at least cause a pinch of panic for the fanbase.

For now, everything is smooth sailing. The foot injury is still part of Herbert's reality but it does not appear to be anything worth worrying about. His addition to the injury report does not change that.