Update: Justin Herbert was announced as ACTIVE by the LA Chargers.
Justin Herbert was deemed a game-time decision for the LA Chargers in Week 3 against the Jacksonville Jaguars as the star quarterback is dealing with fractured rib cartilage from Week 2's loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Chargers fans should not be very confident if Chase Daniel has to start against the Jacksonville Jaguars, especially with all of the other injuries that the Bolts are dealing with.
While the team has not yet announced anything formally, it appears that we might already have our answer on who is starting in this. According to Daniel Popper of The Athletic, Daniel was announced as the team's starting quarterback during presentation rehearsal at SoFi Stadium on Sunday morning.
Chase Daniel was just announced as the starting QB on the video board at SoFi during game presentation dress rehearsal.
— Daniel Popper (@danielrpopper) September 25, 2022
Chargers fans have to hope that this is just protocol, and not definitive Justin Herbert injury news.
Since the team has not formally announced that Justin Herbert won't play there is still hope that Herbert can go through his pre-game routine and decide to play. Brandon Staley said earlier this week that the player's decision is always front and center in their decision making and all signs point to Herbert wanting to play.
That being said, this could just be the presentation team practicing in the case that they do have to announce Daniel's name... but how much practicing does that really take? Corey Linsley was also named as a starter on the board and he is doubtful, so it might not mean anything. However, this is not a promising sign for Herbert, regardless of how you spin it.
Making matters worse is the fact that Justin Herbert has not been seen on the field for his typical pre-game routine. That could be another telling sign that Herbert might not be playing in Week 3.
We're less than two hours from game time and I still have not seen Justin Herbert on the field. Chase Daniel and Easton Stick are throwing now. Stick typically gets his throwing in earlier than this.
— Daniel Popper (@danielrpopper) September 25, 2022
It will be interesting to see how the Chargers handle this injury if Herbert does not play this game. This injury is not one that simply goes away and when Herbert does eventually play, he is naturally going to play through some discomfort. How much discomfort is the team and Herbert willing to tolerate?
At the end of the day, every Chargers fan would rather lose this one game and Herbert rest and recover rather than him play the game and aggravate the injury further. However, there was a happy medium in which Herbert could play and not reaggravate the injury, but now that just seems like a pipe dream.