After a 5-12 finish in 2023, the Los Angeles Chargers made serious changes this offseason. They fired former head coach Brandon Staley mid-season. To replace him. the Chargers landed National Championship head coach Jim Harbaugh. Additionally, the team moved on from several key players on offense. That includes Keenan Allen, Austin Ekeler, and Mike Williams.
Los Angeles’ franchise player on offense is former first-round pick Justin Herbert. The 26-year-old is set to enter his fifth professional season in 2024. He’s started all 62 games he’s played for LA. On July 31, Herbert was diagnosed with a plantar fascia injury in his right foot. The team had Herbert out of practice and in a walking boot for two weeks. However, the 2021 AP Offensive Rookie of the Year returned to practice on Monday. A step in the right direction for the Chargers.
Justin Herbert returned to practice on Monday for the Los Angeles Chargers
things u love to see pic.twitter.com/kXFdgMMvxA
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) August 19, 2024
In 2023, Justin Herbert started 13 games for the Chargers and went 5-8. His (65.1) completion percentage, 3,134 passing yards, and 20 passing touchdowns were all career lows. On top of that, Herbert’s 62-game streak of starting was broken in Week 14 when he fractured his right index finger. That ended his season prematurely and forced him to miss the last four games. This offseason, the starting QB was relatively healthy until the end of July. Herbert was forced to miss time due to a foot injury. Luckily, Herbert only missed around two weeks and was back practicing on Monday.
Head coach Jim Harbaugh said his starting QB is learning a new offense ahead of the 2024 season. As we’ve seen in the past from teams that Harbaugh has coached, he loved to establish the run. We saw that over the last two seasons with Michigan. While Justin Herbert has the capability of throwing for 5,000+ yards, his arm might be tamed in Harbaugh’s offense. That doesn’t mean Herbert can’t have a bounce-back season in 2024. Herbert’s top WR targets this season are Joshua Palmer, D.J. Chark, and rookie Ladd McConkey. At RB, the Chargers have two former Ravens Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins. It’s a new-look offense in 2024 for Los Angeles but Herbert is still their key piece at QB.
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