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Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh (right) understands why quarterback Justin Herbert does not enjoy wearing the “protective” gold jersey. (Associated Press)
Despite everything he did at Oregon, despite 17,000 NFL passing yards and 114 touchdown tosses and all the records already set as a Charger, Justin Herbert has never stood out quite like this on a football field.
Wrapped in a golden jersey while everyone else is dressed in blue or white, Herbert literally has resembled a one-man team at times during the Chargers’ offseason program.
“He did not want that,” coach Jim Harbaugh said Tuesday. “He didn’t. And I get that. I understand that. As a quarterback, I didn’t like wearing a different color jersey than anybody else on the team.”
But Harbaugh has insisted that Herbert go gold as a reminder to others to give him his space — Harbaugh called it “a halo” — as a means to protect the franchise’s most significant asset.
While it is standard for teams to outfit their quarterbacks in brighter jerseys as a precaution, the difference this spring is that Herbert typically has been the only one in an alternate color.
Read more: Chargers receiver Quentin Johnston would like to drop this memory
“[It’s] two yards for the all quarterbacks,” Harbaugh said, using his hands to illustrate a barrier surrounding the player. “But the guy wearing the gold jersey, let’s make that 2½ or three.”
Maximizing Herbert first means maximizing his health, something the Chargers have struggled to do the last two seasons as rib, shoulder and finger injuries impacted his play.
Herbert missed the final four games in 2023 because of a fractured right index finger., a break that required surgery and officially unhinged a season already careening to nowhere.
Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh (left) and owner Dean Spanos flank Marine Col. Charles Dudik at the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. (Gregory Bull / Associated Press)
The reset from the team’s 5-12 finish included the hiring of…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/jim-harbaugh-cant-stop-giving-024219154.html
Author : LA Times
Publish date : 2024-06-12 02:42:19
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