The Los Angeles Chargers had a big injury scare this offseason when it was revealed that Justin Herbert is suffering from plantar fasciitis. This put his status for Week 1 against the Las Vegas Raiders in doubt. However, he returned to practice surprisingly quickly.
There's been a bit of confusion surrounding his situation as he originally wasn't on the injury report this week until the NFL stepped in and advised the Chargers to put him on the report. Los Angeles acquiesced but now Herbert is off the injury report again.
#Chargers QB Justin Herbert (plantar fascia) is off the injury report -- for real this time -- and good to go for Sunday's opener vs. the #Raiders.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 6, 2024
WR DJ Chark (hip) is out.
This whole situation is weird but regardless, Herbert is playing. That said, it's highly unlikely that he's 100%. Plantar fascia is a tough injury to recover from so quickly. Herbert's tough and has played through injury a lot in his career, but he could have limited mobility. That may be a problem against a Raiders front that features Christian Wilkins and Maxx Crosby.
It's also worth noting that wide receiver DJ Chark isn't playing. The Chargers are already very thin at wide receiver so missing Chark will only make life harder for Herbert.
Regardless, Herbert is playing but it'll be very interesting to see how he performs. He missed much of training camp and this is a new offense that he's learning. Expectations are high for the Chargers due to head coach Jim Harbaugh but this team lacks talent at a number of key positions.
The team really needs Herbert to perform like a top-10 quarterback if they hope to win a lot of games. This is a very important game for the Raiders to win. This might be the worst the team looks in the Harbaugh era as they try to figure out the new system. The future is bright in Los Angeles but it should take time for Harbaugh to get the team where he wants it. The Raiders have to take advantage early on.