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Justin Herbert Injury History & Updates

Basic StatsJustin Herbert's Basic Stats

Justin Herbert
ADP: N/A
Bye: 5
Experience: 4
Age: 26.5
Height: 6'6"
Weight: 236
40 Time: 4.68

SPARQx (Rank): 99.50 (78%)
Burst Score (Rank): 123.60 (92%)
Agility Score (Rank): 11.52 (49%)
Throw Velocity (Rank): 55.00 (50%)

Injury PredictorJustin Herbert's Injury Guide

Very High Risk

Chance of Injury in 2024

69.2%

% chance misses at least 2 quarters

Chance of Injury per Game

6.7%

1- 17√1-% Inj/Season

Projected Games Missed 2024

2.40

Durability

5.00

Ability to produce despire relatively minor injuries. 5 being most durable

Injury analysis powered by Draft Sharks Injury Guide, formerly SIP Logo

Injury History

Date League Injury Details
Sep 30, 2017 NFL Shoulder Clavicle Fracture Herbert suffered a broken collarbone while rushing for a touchdown in the first quarter of the game vs. California
Nov 23, 2018 Non-NFL Shoulder Herbert suffered a shoulder injury during the game against Oregon State.
Aug 31, 2019 Non-NFL Knee Patella Sprain Herbert suffered a knee injury in Week 1 game against Auburn in Arlington, Texas.
Sep 15, 2022 NFL Chest Rib Fracture Herbert sustained a fracture to his rib cartilage. He missed only 1 play.
Jan 1, 2023 NFL Shoulder Labrum Tear Herbert underwent surgery on January 25th. Exact injury date is unknown; Herbert played all 18 of L.A.'s games, including the Wild Card loss at Jacksonville.
Oct 1, 2023 NFL Hand Finger Fracture Herbert fractured his left middle finger (non-throwing hand) in Week 4 vs. the Raiders. He's missed no time but has played with a splint or wrap on the finger ever since.
Dec 10, 2023 NFL Hand Finger Fracture Herbert sustained a fracture in his right index finger (on his throwing hand) in the second quarter of Week 14 vs. the Broncos. It was later revealed that he'd require season-ending surgery.
Jul 31, 2024 NFL Pedal Foot Plantar Fasciitis Grade 1 Herbert's injury was to his right foot.
Sep 8, 2024 NFL Pedal Ankle (high) Sprain Grade 3 Herbert played through a high ankle sprain but reinjured it against the Steelers in Week 3.

Basic StatsJustin Herbert's Preseason Player Analysis

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Bottom Line

Herbert faces a ton of change in 2024. And it doesn’t look like good change.

A run-loving coaching staff led by HC Jim Harbaugh and OC Greg Roman replaces pass-heavy Brandon Staley. WR Keenan Allen, WR Mike Williams, and RB Austin Ekeler are gone. And no sure things were added to the pass-catching corps.

Herbert is talented enough to produce in spite of these challenges. But you shouldn’t go into the season counting on him as an every-week QB1.

What We Learned Last Year

  • Herbert’s 2023 season ended in Week 14 with a fractured right index finger. He underwent surgery in mid-December.
  • Herbert’s fantasy-scoring average in his 12 healthy games ranked seventh among QBs.
  • He scored as a top-8 QB in seven of those 12 games. He finished outside the top-12 in the other five.
  • Herbert averaged 253.2 passing yards across his 12 healthy games. That was a career low but still ranked 10th among 29 qualifying QBs.
  • Herbert averaged a career-high 19.0 rushing yards per game last year. He averaged 15.6 and 17.8 rushing yards per game in his first two seasons before sinking to 8.6 per game in 2022. He played through a rib injury for much of that year.
  • Herbert’s 83.1 Pro Football Focus passing grade last season was the second-best mark of his career. It ranked 10th among 30 qualifiers.
  • Herbert’s finishes among QBs in fantasy points per game in his first three NFL seasons:
    • 2020 - 8th
    • 2021 - 3rd
    • 2022 - 14th

What to Expect in 2024

  • Herbert will be operating a brand new offense this season after the Chargers fired HC Brandon Staley and OC Kellen Moore. They’ll be replaced by HC Jim Harbaugh and OC Greg Roman, who both have run-leaning backgrounds.
  • Harbaugh and Roman spent four seasons together in San Francisco from 2011 to 2014. Here’s where those teams ranked in pass attempts and pass rate:
    • 2011 - 31st, 30th
    • 2012 - 31st, 30th
    • 2013 - 32nd, 31st
    • 2014 - 29th, 27th
  • It’s worth noting that dual-threat QB Colin Kaepernick started half of the 2012 season and all of the 2013 and 2014 seasons. That certainly skewed the 49ers toward the run.
  • But Harbaugh was also a run-heavy play caller at Michigan over the past nine years. Eight of those nine teams finished with more carries per game than pass attempts. The average: 39.2 carries vs. 28.8 passes.
  • Harbaugh even leaned on the run with QB Andrew Luck at Stanford.
    • 2009 - 24.1 passes per game vs. 41.2 runs
    • 2010 - 29.2 passes per game vs. 41.2 runs
  • Roman has a similar history. On top of his four seasons with Harbaugh in San Francisco, he’s spent six more seasons as an OC, two in Buffalo and four in Baltimore. None of those offenses ranked higher in pass attempts than runs.
  • This will likely be a big shift in philosophy for the Chargers, who were a pass-heavy offense the last four seasons. Their ranks in pass attempts and pass rate:
    • 2020 - 5th, 16th
    • 2021 - 3rd, 3rd
    • 2022 - 2nd, 2nd
    • 2023 - 3rd, 7th
  • The Chargers also figure to run fewer plays this season. They ranked first in offensive snaps over the last four years. The 49ers ranked 31st in offensive snaps over the four seasons under Roman and Harbaugh.
  • Add it all up and Herbert is a virtual lock for significantly fewer pass attempts this season – after ranking top four in that category in each of his first three seasons and eighth in pass attempts per game last year.
  • Herbert will also be working with a much different pass-catching corps this year.
    • Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, who have been Herbert’s top two WRs since he arrived, are gone.
    • So is RB Austin Ekeler, who averaged 6.3 targets and 4.9 catches per game over the last four years.
    • TE Gerald Everett, who ranked fifth and third on the team in targets the last two years, is also gone.
    • The Chargers added second-round rookie Ladd McConkey and free-agent D.J. Chark to the WR corps. They join holdovers Quentin Johnston and Josh Palmer.
    • TE Donald Parham returns, alongside free-agent signings Will Dissly and Hayden Hurst.
    • The RB room is brand new: Gus Edwards, J.K. Dobbins, and Kimani Vidal.
    • Overall, this looks like a significantly worse group than Herbert has had over his first four seasons.

Recent Injury Bites View All Shark Bites »

Justin Herbert, QB LAC

12:18pm EDT 9/23/24

X-rays Clean On Justin Herbert's Ankle

X-rays on Chargers QB Justin Herbert's ankle came back clean, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. "He'll continue to be monitored this week," Rapoport adds.

View Full Story »

Chargers QB Justin Herbert aggravated his ankle injury in the third quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Steelers. He's officially questionable to return, but The Athletic's Daniel Popper tweets that Herbett "has a hat on, limping badly on sideline. Would be shocked if he returns to this game." QB Taylor Heinicke has replaced Herbert.

View all Justin Herbert Shark Bites »

Chargers QB Justin Herbert (ankle) is listed as questionable for this weekend's game vs. the Steelers. He practiced on Thursday or Friday but revealed Friday that he's dealing with a high-ankle sprain. Herbert said he's “getting better every day" but wouldn't guarantee that he'll play on Sunday. We'll look for further updates on his status and get Los Angeles' inactives around 11:30 am ET on Sunday. But Herbert is not a QB1 option and is a shaky play even in 2-QB and superflex leagues.

View all Justin Herbert Shark Bites »

Chargers QB Justin Herbert missed practice on Wednesday and is on the injury report with an ankle. HC Jim Harbaugh said Monday that x-rays on the ankle came back clean but that Herbert was scheduled for "further evaluations." It's unclear what those revealed. Herbert played through this injury last week, so we're tentatively expecting him to play vs. the Steelers on Sunday. But even a healthy Herbert would not be a QB1 option in that matchup.

View all Justin Herbert Shark Bites »

Chargers HC Jim Harbaugh said Monday that x-rays on QB Justin Herbert's lower right leg came back clean. "I'm sure there'll be further evaluations as the week goes on," Harbaugh added. It sounds like Herbert isn't out of the woods quite yet. But, considering he finished the Week 2 win over the Panthers, we're expecting him to start this Sunday's game vs. the Steelers.

View all Justin Herbert Shark Bites »

How do Injuries impact your draft strategy?

For us, it's 1/17th of the equation. Hear us out.

The Draft War Room is the only live-sync draft tool that monitors 17 crucial in-draft indicators, including injury likelihood… and adapts to show you which players to pick throughout your draft.

See how we built the 17 indicators into our Draft War Room »
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