Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert already is considered a top-10 player at his position after throwing for 17,223 yards and 114 touchdowns in his first four seasons. But since Herbert doesn’t show a lot of emotion on the field, and the Chargers have yet to win a playoff game, some have questioned his leadership abilities.
Left tackle Rashawn Slater has called BS on the notion that Herbert doesn’t lead teammates.
“It’s funny, everyone who calls Justin a quiet leader isn’t actually on the team, so they have no idea what his leadership is like,” Slater recently told Kay Adams. “Justin, he gets riled up. He talks shit. He’s vocal. He’s all those things. He’s a great leader. I also think people see more than they hear. Just the way he conducts his business, the way he goes about it, he’s always been a great leader.”
Herbert, a first-round pick in 2020, has made the Pro Bowl once and has led the Chargers to the postseason once.
He played only 13 games last season, undergoing surgery to repair an injured finger and finishing the season on IR. Herbert threw for 3,134 yards and 20 touchdowns with seven interceptions.
One Chargers rookie isn’t quite ready to start practicing at training camp yet.
The NFL’s daily transaction wire brings word that the team has placed linebacker Junior Colson on the non-football illness list. The specific reason for the move is not know, but Colson will not be eligible to practice with the team until he’s activated from the list. That activation can come at any time.
Colson played for new Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh at Michigan and was taken by the Chargers in the third round in April.
The Chargers will hold their first training camp practice next Wednesday, so Colson may be cleared to get on the field before missing any time.
Jacoby Jones family released a statement, confirming that the former NFL player has died at the age of 40. The cause of death has not been announced.
The family said Jones passed away peacefully at his home in New Orleans.
They asked for prayers for his mother, Emily, his son, Little Jacoby, and other family members.
“We are deeply saddened to share that Jacoby Jones, a beloved former Ravens football player from New Orleans and a proud graduate of a historically Black college has passed away at the age of 40,” the statement released through the NFLPA reads. “We want to express our gratitude for all the kind thoughts and support you have shown us during this challenging time,” the family wrote. “Your ongoing support and respecting our privacy means a lot to us.”
Jones played nine NFL seasons with five teams, becoming a household name in the 2012 postseason with the Ravens when he scored three touchdowns.
He recently accepted a job to become the head coach and offensive coordinator of the Beaumont Renegades, an indoor football expansion franchise set to begin play in 2025.
The Chargers officially opened their new training facility and corporate headquarters on Thursday, the team announced. The Bolt, as its known, is located in El Segundo within four miles of LAX and SoFi Stadium.
“I haven’t been this excited in a long time,” Chargers owner Dean Spanos said in a statement. “I see it in the community; I see it within the organization – from our staff to our players to our coaches. It’s electrifying. Jim Harbaugh being here has brought a new sense of awareness about our team — how important it is to us and to the community. And now you have this new facility that everyone’s been talking about for more than two years now. Our fans are excited. You see it everywhere you go. I hear how they can’t wait to come to camp. Can’t wait to see ‘The Bolt.’ This took a lot of time and a lot of hard work, and I just feel fortunate that our staff, players and fans will be able to enjoy this for years to come.”
The 150,000-square-foot facility features a three-level layout and sits on 14 acres, which includes three full natural grass practice fields. The ground floor includes an expansive locker room, equipment room, training and medical space, weight room, hydrotherapy room, recovery room, sauna, steam room, barber’s area, multiple player lounges and direct access to practice fields, a lap/rehab pool and an outdoor lounge featuring a grill, firepit and full sun outdoor televisions.
The second floor is home to an oversized team dining room and kitchen — helmed by Wolfgang Puck Catering — complete with a tile mosaic Chargers helmet-inspired pizza oven, carvery, smoothie and coffee bars, pasta station, grill station, stand-alone island salad bar and rotating daily global fare station. It’s also home to offices for both coaching and football operations staffs.
The floor includes all positional meetings room, including a turf outdoor walk-thru space on the second level balcony, as well as a two-story team meeting room.
The top floor features a soon-to-be-completed private, members-only club with wrap-around outdoor view balcony, lounge, dining area and private dining room. The third level also serves as the hub for all executive and business staff offices, conference rooms and content creation hubs.
The Chargers Walk of Fame adorns the entrance to The Bolt. Each member of the Chargers Hall of Fame has his own terrazzo tile and brass inlay.
“It’s small way to say ‘thank you’ to the greats that played for our team over the last 60-plus years,” Spanos said. “It’s the first thing you see when you come into this building which really, to me, says that this is the foundation of our team.”
The Bolt will open its doors to the public on July 13-14. During the exclusive two-day event, fans will have the opportunity to tour various areas on the first level of the building, including the main lobby atrium, press conference space, Chargers locker room, the turf pad running the length of practice field No. 1 and also view the weight room through the three retractable doors that create an indoor/outdoor training space for the team. Reservations for the seven hourly tour windows each day maxed out within the first 30 minutes of being posted to the Chargers site.
“Our fans are part of the Chargers family,” Spanos said. “This is theirs as much as it is ours, and I want them to feel that when they come here.”
The Chargers will kick off their inaugural training camp at The Bolt beginning July 24. Fans need to pre-register for free tickets.
In all, the team will host 12 public practices during the first three weeks of training camp.
With limited capacity, registration to attend practice will take place in waves through chargers.com/camp.
Raiders receiver Davante Adams did not see the humor in the Chargers’ schedule release video this offseason. Adams, who was pictured next to a box of mock garbage-favored Pop Tarts in the video, fired back at the Chargers’ social media team Tuesday.
“It’s not the players’ fault because they didn’t have anything to do with the post,” Adams told FanDuel’s Up & Adams show. “This is directed strictly toward the Chargers’ social media page: Please keep my name out of your mouth and show some respect.”
Adams has played the Chargers five times, catching 41 passes for 535 yards and four touchdowns. In the past two seasons with the Raiders, Adams has gone for 141, 177, 75 and 101 yards against the Chargers.
“I thought about responding [to the Chargers] on social media and being funny there, but I figured it would be better to just beat their head in in real life and continuing to do it that way,” Adams said. “I just want to remind them of what they’ve been going through as it pertains to playing against me.”
Adams, 31, seemed most annoyed that the video implied that he’s over the hill. In 2023, Adams did not make the Pro Bowl for the first time since 2016 and was not All-Pro for the first time since 2019.
Still, he had 103 receptions for 1,144 yards and eight touchdowns.
“They treat me like an old man, so I’m going to act like it because old men just say whatever they feel,” Adams said. “That’s how my grandpa is, at least. So I’m just trying to be what they want me to be.”
The Raiders open the season with the Chargers on Sept. 8 at SoFi Stadium.