Chargers QB Justin Herbert asked Jim Harbaugh for his preseason playing time

Los Angeles Chargers fans will finally see Justin Herbert in preseason action for the first time.

And they have Herbert himself to thank. 

Herbert will take a series or two against the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday after personally going to Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh and asking for the work. 

Feeling a little more comfortable with the offensive line a week or so removed from Rashawn Slater’s season-ending injury, Harbaugh was happy to make that happen. 

"It was actually me going to him and saying, 'Hey, would it be OK if I went in and played?' Because I think in years past the plan was to rest," Herbert said, according to Eric Smith of Chargers.com. "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."

Herbert not playing at all in the preseason until this point is a bit of a rarity. But his rookie year was 2020, when the NFL didn’t have a preseason due to the pandemic. And after skipping a few more preseasons, he had a minor injury to juggle last year during the first preseason of the Harbaugh era. 

While Herbert won’t see the field long, the live-game reps alongside his cobbled-together offensive line and newish cast of weapons could do some good.