QB returns from injury scare vs. Chiefs

On December 9, 2024By Littum

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert has left the “Sunday Night Football” game vs Kansas City Chiefs with an apparent leg injury.

With about 4 1/2 minutes left in the second quarter, Herbert dropped back to throw, scrambled out of the pocket and took a hard hit from chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton. The 26-year-old gunman remained on the ground after the battle and received attention from Chargers‘ medical staff.

Herbert and the trainers worked on the quarterback’s left leg as he lay on the ground, bending his knee carefully.

Taylor HeinickeLos Angeles’ backup quarterback, entered the game for the final play of the Chargers’ drive after Herbert’s injury. Easton Stick is also on the team’s quarterback depth chart.

Justin Herbert injury update

Herbert would leave the game and later re-enter after a Chiefs offensive possession.

According to NBC’s Melissa Stark, the passer chatted with the Chargers’ head athletic trainer but did not require further evaluation or investigation. He jogged around the sideline before his team’s next offensive possession and returned to the field to close out the first half.

Herbert had taken a hard hit from Bolton with less than five minutes left in the first half of the Chargers’ “Sunday Night Football” game against the Chiefs. He received medical attention after the hit, bending his left leg with the help of Los Angeles’ training staff.

Earlier in the game, Herbert had his left ankle taped after Chiefs defensive end Mike Danna grabbed it while making a tackle. The quarterback missed no time with the ankle injury.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

Justin Herbert statistics

Through one half on “Sunday Night Football,” Herbert is 10-of-18 passing for 97 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

He has also rushed twice for nine total yards.

Chargers QB depth chart

Here’s how the Chargers’ quarterbacks room looks in Week 14:

Justin Herbert
Taylor Heinicke
Easton Stick (third emergency QB)

The Chargers acquired Heinicke, a journeyman backup quarterback, in a trade with the Atlanta Falcons in late August. Los Angeles sent a 2025 sixth-round pick to Atlanta for the veteran.

Stick was the Chargers’ fifth-round pick in 2019. He started four games last year after Herbert broke his finger late in the season.