Justin Herbert will undergo surgery on Tuesday on his broken index finger on his right hand and will miss the Los Angeles Chargers’ remaining four games this season.
Herbert visited two hand specialists on Monday after he suffered the injury during the second quarter of Los Angeles’ 24-7 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday.
“He is tough as they come, but we’re going to make sure that, whatever it is, we’re going to do what is best for Justin, long term,” coach Brandon Staley said on Monday.
Herbert is the seventh starting quarterback in the league to be lost for the season because of an injury if the Jets’ Aaron Rodgers does not return from his torn Achilles tendon.
That includes the top two QBs who signed extensions during the preseason.
Herbert signed a $252.5 million extension on the first day of training camp and Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow inked a five-year extension worth $275 million three days before the start of the regular season.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Monday that Herbert would likely undergo surgery and his status for the rest of the season would be determined by what doctors discovered during the procedure.
This will mark the first time in Herbert’s career he’s missed a game due to injury.
The 25-year-old has started 62 consecutive games since making his NFL debut in Week 2 of the 2020 season.
Josh Allen is the only quarterback with a longer active streak of consecutive starts (84).
The Chargers will go with Stick as their quarterback on a short week against the Raiders.
He went 13-of-24 for 179 yards in relief of Herbert on Sunday. It was the first time he’s appeared in a game since Week 7 of the 2020 season.
Stick was a fifth-round pick in the 2019 NFL draft after a successful four-year career at North Dakota State.
The Chargers (5-8) are still alive in the AFC playoff race, but they have a steep hill to climb with only four games remaining in the regular season.
There are six teams with identical 7-6 records ahead of them also vying for the final two wild-card spots.
Herbert will finish this season with 3,134 yards, 20 touchdowns, seven interceptions and a 65.1 completion percentage in 13 games.
