Chargers QB Herbert says foot is back to 100%

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, who was in a walking boot for two weeks of training camp with a plantar fascia injury to his right foot, said Wednesday that his foot is back to 100 percent.

Herbert said he isn’t wearing any special kind of cleat or sole to support his foot and that there wasn’t a play or moment that sparked the injury.

“It was just one of those things that I went in; it was getting a little sore, and I talked to [the training staff] about it,” Herbert said. “I think over the past couple weeks of being out, I did my best to pick up as much as I could in meetings, be out there in walk-throughs and do everything I could to not miss a rep. It’s definitely tough.”

Herbert said managing the injury throughout the season is “not really on my mind right now.” Instead, he is hopeful that the work he has done with the Chargers’ athletic trainers will ensure that the injury won’t linger.

“As long as we’re out in front of it, I think we’ll be all right,” Herbert said.

The Chargers have a vastly different offense from last season, with new starters at wide receiver, tight end and running back. The team’s receiving corps, specifically, is the most inexperienced of the team, with just one player who has 1,000 yards in a season — DJ Chark Jr. when he was with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2019. Chark could miss Sunday’s season opener against the visiting Las Vegas Raiders, as he hasn’t practiced yet this week with a hip injury.

“That’s kind of the tough part about missing that time is you’re not getting those reps with those guys, and they’re all new,” Herbert said. “But when you miss that, you’ve got to find ways to — whether it’s watching the film and talking with them or whether it’s going out after practice and throwing a couple reps.”

The Chargers will rely on wideouts Joshua Palmer, Quentin Johnston and Ladd McConkey if Chark cannot go. When Herbert returned to practice, Johnston had one of his best weeks of camp, catching multiple passes each day.

“He’s a playmaker,” Herbert said of Johnston. “He’s one of those guys you have to find ways to get him the ball, and when you do, special things happen. And so a large, large part of our offense is just find ways to get him the ball.”