Fans can expect every game between the LA Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders to be chippy but there is always a line that should not be crossed. That line was crossed in Week 4 as former Charger Jerry Tillery delivered a nasty late hit on Justin Herbert, earning himself an ejection in the process.
The entire Chargers sideline instantly rallied to support Herbert as it legitimately looked like there could be some kind of fight on the field. Cooler heads ultimately prevailed but that did not stop the likes of Khalil Mack from calling out his former teammate for the blatantly dirty hit.
Mack is not the only former teammate of Tillery that has weighed in on the issue. Former Chargers veteran Kyle Van Noy, who has not signed with a team after spending 2022 in LA, added more fuel to the fire with a cryptic social media post on Sunday.
Yeahh , if you only knew the behind the scenes with Jerry I’m shocked hands weren’t thrown!
— Kyle Van Noy (@KVN_03) October 1, 2023
Kyle Van Noy is "shocked" that the Chargers didn't fight Jerry Tillery
Well, this is a very interesting wrinkle. If there is anyone who knows what it was like in the locker room last season it is Van Noy, who was one of the team's most important veteran leaders on defense. For someone like him to go on social media and say something like this? That is a bad look for Tillery.
Tillery's tenure in Los Angeles certainly did not end well. The Chargers made it more than obvious that he was being shopped at the trade deadline last year. Once the deadline passed, the Chargers ultimately decided to cut Tillery before the end of his rookie contract.
But that always felt like it was production-based considering Tillery never quite worked out for the Chargers. However, Van Noy's social media post makes it obvious that there was more meat on that bone. Something happened between Tillery and his former teammates behind closed doors.
Perhaps that is what influenced a dirty hit like this on Justin Herbert. Tillery likely wasn't trying to hurt his former teammate but when someone is juiced with extra adrenaline things like this can happen, especially when it is a player like Tillery who is prone to making mistakes.
While a fight did not ultimately break out, this situation very clearly galvanized the Chargers and led the team to have a big first half against the Raiders. Finally, Tilery helped the Chargers win a game. It just took him changing jerseys for it to happen.