Justin Herbert has never played in the preseason. He will play in this preseason.
The Chargers quarterback asked coach Jim Harbaugh to suit up and get some snaps, something he has never done in his career. Herbert will start and play a few plays against the Rams on Saturday.
“It was actually me going to him and saying, ‘Hey, would it be OK if I went in and played?’” Herbert said, via Eric Smith of the team website. “Because I think in years past, the plan was to rest. But I wanted to go out there and feel the pass rush because in practice, as a quarterback, you don’t always get the true feeling of the pass rush.
“So, I thought it’d be helpful to go out there. He was understanding and he worked together talking through it.”
Herbert originally was scheduled to play last weekend’s preseason opener against the Saints. Rashawn Slater’s season-ending knee injury forced a shuffling of the offensive line and prompted the Chargers to sit Herbert.
“We had to adjust and worked toward this being the week to play,” Herbert said.
The Chargers made Herbert a 2020 first-round selection, but the NFL didn’t have a preseason that year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He didn’t dress for any exhibition games from 2021-23 and was dealing with a plantar fascia injury in his right foot last year.
This year, he’s healthy and willing.
“I just thought it was something that can help,” Herbert said. “I just thought this was something that could be good for me and good for the team.”
Backup quarterbacks Taylor Heinicke and Trey Lance also will play Saturday, Harbaugh said.
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