The Chargers Should Be Concerned About Justin Herbert’s Longevity

When it comes to diagnosing the cause of the problems the 0-5 Los Angeles Chargers have these days, a lot of attention has been focused on quarterback Justin Herbert, and for good reason.

He is playing by far the worst football of his career thus far. He has completed 59.4% of his passing attempts and is tied with the New England Patriots’ Drake Maye for the most interceptions in the NFL with seven. He has also been sacked 17 times, which is second only to Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns.

It is unfair to blame all of the Chargers’ problems on Herbert. While one could say he is a disease, he is also a symptom of the real disease, much like how migraine headaches are a medical condition but could be caused by a more serious one.

But while there is lots of immediate worry about Herbert’s poor play, there should be just as much concern in the grand scheme of things about another problem concerning him that has been building up over time. It is a problem that is also connected to one of the team’s structural problems on offense.

How much more can Herbert endure?

As Daniel Popper pointed out in a recent article for The Athletic, Herbert has been hit 652 times in the regular season since he was a rookie in 2020. No other NFL quarterback has been hit as many times during that span — in fact, no one has even been hit 600 times since 2020. This season, only one more QB has been hit more times than him.

The 28-year-old has had the misfortune of dealing with a revolving door at the offensive coordinator position ever since L.A. took him with the No. 6 pick in the 2020 draft. But there is one even bigger reason Herbert has had to endure so many shots over the years.

The Chargers have failed to adequately address their offensive line problems over the years. Yes, they drafted Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater, two star tackles, in recent years. Yes, they signed former Pro Bowl center Tyler Biadasz this past offseason to a generous contract, and it probably wasn’t their fault that he suffered a season-ending knee injury late this summer.

But the team has done nothing to plug the massive holes it has at the guard positions. Kayode Awosika, its starting left guard, isn’t worthy of being a first-stringer in the NFL, and neither is Cole Strange, its starting right guard. Plus, the depth on its offensive line has left something to be desired, especially considering the fact that Alt and Slater have had trouble staying healthy.

Herbert is a trooper. He endured a painful rib injury in 2022 and played in all 17 games while throwing for 4,739 yards that season. He has played through numerous other injuries that may have sidelined weaker men for at least a little while.

But every man and woman has their limits as far as what they can endure, especially physically, and NFL players can age very quickly. It is, after all, an extremely violent sport.

If the Chargers’ front office doesn’t make upgrading the offensive line a priority, Herbert’s career could end up being greatly shortened. Forget trying to match the longevity that Philip Rivers, his predecessor, displayed. At this rate, his viability could fall off a cliff by about age 30, just as it does for many running backs, as the compound effect of all those hits and all those minor ailments will hit the tipping point.

The franchise has virtually nothing left to play for this season. But in the meantime, it would do the team some good to at least manage Herbert’s workload, especially given the injuries that have sidelined Alt, Slater, Awosika and a couple of its other offensive linemen.