The Chargers’ winless 0–7 start is burning through whatever goodwill Justin Herbert had left. League decision-makers are losing faith in the former franchise savior, with front-office executives quietly saying the unsaid. Herbert might not be the victim of a bad roster anymore. He might actually be the problem.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported the feeling running among the execs as LA continues to sink to historic lows.
NFL Execs Sounding Off About Chargers QB Justin Herbert
“League evaluators typically support Herbert more than the media does, but it has been harder to defend him this season,” Fowler writes. “He looks hesitant and is seeing the field poorly.”
“He doesn’t seem comfortable in the offense,” an AFC exec said. “I don’t know that it’s a great schematic fit for his talents. He’s throwing a lot of picks where he simply isn’t seeing defenders. I don’t know how it gets better.”
For starters, the last time Herbert had a start with multiple TDs was in 2025. Herbert now has a streak of nine consecutive starts without multiple touchdowns, a streak that only Ryan Leaf (12) has beaten in Chargers history.
Plus, Herbert has thrown 10 touchdowns in seven games this season, matching his combined interception total from 2023 and 2024.
Calls to fire Mike McDaniel as the offensive coordinator have been high ever since the Chargers went 0-4, but head coach Jim Harbaugh seems stubborn about holding onto McDaniel. Running out of things to blame on McDaniel, the focus is shifting towards Herbert, and it’s already looking bad.
“I have heard similar things about him being an awkward fit for what Mike McDaniel wants his quarterback to do, specifically diagnosing the defense at the line of scrimmage and adjusting accordingly,” ESPN’s Dan Graziano adds.
Graziano says that his QB at Miami, Tua Tagovailoa, was the reason behind his success, making Herbert sound like the problem all along.
“Oddly, McDaniel’s success in Miami came because of his ability to scheme around Tua Tagovailoa’s deficiencies, but one thing Tagovailoa could do was make the right decisions when he got to the line. If that’s not something that comes as easily to Herbert, that might be showing up.”
Justin Herbert Needs a Fresh Start
Some coaches are still being graceful on the QB, saying the entire offense around him is collapsing.
“The entire team has been devastated around him,” said an NFL defensive coach who recently prepared for him, via Fowler. “The O-line is a mess, the running game is bad, and the skill guys aren’t very good. It’s nearly impossible to have success with that setup.”
Even if they manage to scrape together a few wins down the stretch, the structural problem remains. So, what moves do the Chargers actually have left?
Moving on from Herbert sounds like the instant fix with the deadline fast approaching, but reality says otherwise. His astronomical contract and dead-cap hit mean LA is functionally locked in.
A fresh start might be what Herbert needs to break the curse, but the Chargers are stuck figuring out how to fix their $262 million man in-house.
“The question is whether this becomes a completely lost season or if there’s some way for Herbert to get to the end of it feeling better about what lies ahead. Considering the Chargers’ 0-7 record, the former feels more likely.”
Chargers Warned About Unsaid Justin Herbert Problem While There’s Still Time