When Justin Herbert left the Los Angeles Chargers’ clash against the Denver Broncos Sunday with a finger injury, there were plenty of concerns that he might be out for the year. Those intensified Monday when ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Herbert was “very likely to undergo surgery” Tuesday, and that he could possibly miss the rest of the season depending on how that surgery went. And on Tuesday, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported that Herbert will indeed be out for the rest of the year:
#Chargers QB Justin Herbert will miss the remainder of the 2023 regular season following surgery today on his fractured right index finger, per sources.
Easton Stick takes over beginning Thursday night against the #Raiders. pic.twitter.com/r70Ov7xi64
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) December 12, 2023
As noted there, Easton Stick will start in Herbert’s place. And he doesn’t have a lot of NFL experience. He was drafted by the Chargers since 2019 following a college career at North Dakota State, and has been with the team since, but his only previous regular-season game action was throwing one pass in one game in 2020. Sunday in relief of Herbert, he completed just 13 of 24 passes (54 percent) for 179 yards, and Los Angeles lost 24-7. So there’s some reason for Chargers’ fans to be concerned with Herbert gone for the year.
The Chargers are 5-8 on the season following that loss. That has them three games back of the 8-5 Kansas City Chiefs for the division lead. They’re also two games back of the 7-6 Indianapolis Colts for the seventh and final AFC playoff spot, with four other 7-6 teams also between them and the playoffs. So their odds of getting there look pretty slim, especially without Herbert.
And that may add to the discussion about coach Brandon Staley being on the hot seat. Staley was already under some pressure following last season’s Wild Card round playoff loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars (where they blew a 27-0 halftime lead), even if GM Tom Tedesco pushed back on that at the time. And this season hasn’t gone well at all for him and the Chargers, and it’s seen him flare up at the media a number of times. Now, he has another challenge of trying to finish the season without his star quarterback.
[Tom Pelissero on Twitter]
