It’s beginning to look more and more like Justin Herbert won’t miss any time with his rib injury.
On Thursday, for the first time since suffering his rib injury against the Kansas City Chiefs two weeks ago, Herbert was a full participant in practice. He had been limited on Wednesday and barely practiced the week before.
Herbert’s rib injury didn’t stop him from playing against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 3 this past Sunday. Whether or not it had a hand in his lackluster performance – 55.56-percent completion for 297 yards with a touchdown and an interception – is another story.
But with winnable games against the Houston Texans, Cleveland Browns and Denver Broncos all coming up, the Chargers could use Herbert – even if he’s only at about 80- to 90-percent of full strength.
Going into the 2022 NFL season there were expectations that the former Rookie of the Year and Pro Bowl quarterback might be an MVP candidate this season.
And after a huge performance in Week 1 against the Las Vegas Raiders things were certainly trending that way. But after losing to the Chiefs and Jaguars, expectations have tempered a little bit.
If Herbert can string together some big performances in wins over his next few weeks, the MVP conversation might be back on the table.
Doing all of that while dealing with rib cartilage damage would make him more than worthy of the title.