Should Justin Herbert have stayed on the field so late in Week 3 loss?
Justin Herbert showed his devotion to his team and his craft on Sunday when he stayed in the Week 3 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars despite being injured. But questions have quickly risen as to whether letting him stay on the field so long was the right call.
The Chargers starting quarterback was surprisingly active for Sunday's game even though he is still dealing with a ribs injury he sustained against the Chiefs in Week 2. He then stayed in the game as Trevor Lawrence and the visiting Jaguars continued to rack up their score, causing many to criticize head coach Brandon Staley for not stepping up and insisting he remove Herbert from the game for health reasons.
"He wanted to be out there with his teammates," Staley said of the decision to keep Herbert out on the field, via CBS Sports. "He felt good and he wanted to finish the game. He wanted to give our group some energy. We were going to protect him there at the end with really sound protection as best we could, but it was more about him wanting to finish with his guys."
As admirable as all of that is, Los Angeles — and Staley in general — should have been thinking about Herbert's overall health, especially when he's making throws like this with fractured ribs.
Herbert's injury isn't the only one the banged-up Chargers have to contend with, either.
LA should probably, for its own sake, focus a little more on getting healthy at this point of the season. Putting your star players at risk of further injury isn't the best idea, even if those players insist on sticking up for their team.
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