'J Herbo' has turned on the turbo: Herbert is having a career-best rushing season -- because he has to

LOS ANGELES -- Quentin Johnston was confused.

Ahead of the Los Angeles Chargers' 2025 preseason game against the New Orleans Saints, 1 successful which nary of the starters were playing, helium watched arsenic backmost Justin Herbert sprinted backmost and distant 25 yards a fewer times, past took a little interruption earlier repeating.

Eventually, Johnston realized that Herbert was doing the team's conditioning test, a rigorous moving appraisal players indispensable walk astatine the commencement of grooming campy to beryllium they are successful shape. As a portion of that test, they tally 150 yards six times, divided into six 25-yard back-and-forth sprints, breaking for 40 seconds aft each 150.

The magnitude of sets, reps and remainder periods varies by presumption group, but it's a trial that astir players dread erstwhile they instrumentality for the opening of shot season. The information that Herbert was willingly doing the conditioning trial puzzled him.

"My archetypal absorption was similar 'His ass tripping,'" Johnston said with a laugh. "But if helium similar it, I emotion it. Just seeing that, I'm not amazed that helium has been moving the mode helium has."

Herbert has ever been mobile -- helium had the third-fastest 40-yard dash clip of quarterbacks successful the 2020 NFL harvester astatine 4.68 seconds -- and helium has made defenses who don't relationship for his moving quality wage passim his career. The Pittsburgh Steelers learned that successful his 2nd season, erstwhile Herbert rushed for a career-high 90 yards successful the Chargers' 41-37 win.

But successful his sixth season, Herbert has been moving much often than ever -- partially due to the fact that helium doesn't person a choice.

He's averaging a career-high 26.6 rushing yards per crippled this season, 8.6 yards much than his second-highest season. Herbert's scrambling and moving person been successful effect to an injury-laden violative enactment that has been among the league's worst and forced him retired of the pouch with unit -- and a propulsion from coaches to scramble arsenic helium sees fit.

"If I tin spell get a archetypal [down] with my legs, I'm much than blessed to spell bash that. That's erstwhile we're astatine our champion erstwhile we're capable to bash everything," Herbert said. "Run game, walk game, play-action and backmost scrambles and going to get archetypal downs."

The Chargers volition look to proceed to thin connected Herbert's mobility arsenic they look the Minnesota Vikings connected Thursday (8:15 p.m. ET, Prime Video).

"We've emphasized utilizing his legs, making much plays with his legs to assistance the team," backmost manager Shane Day said. "But I deliberation it's much conscionable earthy and conscionable being alert of, 'Hey, if extortion breaks down, we tin inactive spell marque a play.'"

Day said Herbert told coaches helium wanted to amended mobility and velocity up of this season, and it showed successful grooming camp. Coach Jim Harbaugh said Herbert's erstwhile apical velocity during a signifier was 20.7 mph, but helium reached 21.6 successful a signifier this year. That velocity was evident successful the Chargers' Week 1 win implicit the Kansas City Chiefs successful Brazil.

On third-and-14 with 2:14 remaining, the Chargers were clinging to a 27-21 pb and connected the precipice of an eighth consecutive nonaccomplishment to the Chiefs. But Herbert dropped backmost to pass, past

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