The LA Chargers are entering Week 18 with a spot in the AFC playoffs clinched and still something to play for. Los Angeles controls its own destiny with playoff seeding as a win against the Denver Broncos would secure the fifth seed in the AFC.
This is not the most impactful thing to play for in Week 18 but it certainly does matter. As the fifth seed, the Chargers would get the luxury of playing the winner of the AFC South instead of one of the top-three teams in the AFC.
It is more important to keep everyone healthy and ensure that the team is at full strength heading into the playoffs. After beating the LA Rams in Week 17, the Chargers released their first injury report of the week on Wednesday, where the team held a walkthrough. The injury report had a name no fan wants to see: Justin Herbert.
#Chargers injury report for Wednesday (estimated bc team held walkthrough)
— Daniel Popper (@danielrpopper) January 4, 2023
LIMITED: OT Trey Pipkins (knee), FB Zander Horvath (ankle)
S Derwin James (concussion) was estimated as full.
QB Justin Herbert was listed with a left shoulder injury but was estimated as full.
It was just a walkthrough and the good news is that Herbert was estimated to be a full participant. This seems to indicate that the shoulder injury is nothing serious. However, the fact that he was added to the list in the first place is still concerning for fans.
Chargers fans shouldn't panic yet about this Justin Herbert injury news.
Some fans on social media have kept a cool head with this development while others are calling for him to be benched in Week 18 to protect him from being more injured. If the Baltimore Ravens lose to the Cincinnati Bengals before the Chargers even kick off then that could be a possibility.
Fans still should not lose sleep over this Justin Herbert news quite yet. This could be something as small as soreness from a big hit in Week 17 or even lifting the two days prior. There were no signs of anything serious after Week 17's game and the Chargers have not practiced since then to aggravate any kind of injury.
Why the team would even list him with an injury when it was a walkthrough in that he was estimated to be a full participant in is beyond me. It would be much more concerning if he was listed as a limited participant but as of right now, there probably is not much to worry about on the Justin Herbert front.
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And if he does have some nagging pain or soreness in his shoulder then the Chargers ultimately have the ability to rest him in the worst-case scenario. Either way, unless this is more serious than the team is letting on, this should not impact the team's ceiling as a potential dark horse Super Bowl contender.