The irony in all of this?
Herbert slimmed down in the offseason, according to Day, and focused on agility rather than bulking up. The quarterback rushed for a career-best 498 yards in 16 games.
“He made a concerted effort in the offseason to change his body. In the past, maybe his strategy was to get as big as he could to withstand these hits,” Day said. “But this year with his offseason and training camp he said, ‘I’m going to get in the best shape of my life.’
“He got leaner, faster, is setting personal records for speed,” Day continued. “I think his mindset is now, ‘I can’t just absorb hits. I need to get out of there and make plays.’
“There’s more opportunities [to run], but he’s also ready for those moments and has gotten his body in peak condition to do it,” Day added.
Herbert almost certainly will not win the NFL MVP award this season. But if you truly watch the games, you’ll see that Herbert belongs in that conversation.
Sure, other quarterbacks might have gaudier stats and more wins. But few players, if anyone, had to endure the shoddy circumstances Herbert did in 2025.
“To me, it was an MVP season,” Chargers Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman said. “With all the attrition we’ve had and what he’s been able to do to lead the team to a playoff berth … when you look around the league with other teams that have attrition such as this, the results aren’t quite the same.
“When you really go back and look at it, the way he has gutted through and found a way to will us to victory,” Roman continued. “Those are the games that get you in the playoffs and you don’t come by it easy.”
Roman later added: “In terms of Justin and what he’s had to deal with this year, I think it’s a career-defining type of year.”
Herbert, of course, is looking for his first playoff win after not getting one after the 2022 and 2024 seasons.
The quarterback recently reflected on his most-recent outing, a four-interception performance in Houston as the Bolts lost in the Wild Card Round.
“I sure hope so,” Herbert said when asked if learned anything from the loss to the Texans. “I think those are games that, as hard as they are to watch, you have to learn from them.
“You watch [the turnovers] individually and see what went wrong on this play, what you could’ve done differently,” Herbert continued. “It’s just part of the game.
“Unfortunately, it didn’t go our way and there’s nothing I can do to change that,” Herbert added. “It’s more so what can you learn from it, how can you move forward and give everything you can to put this team in a position to win.”
Herbert later revealed that the Houston loss stuck with him for the majority of the offseason.
“I think it was one of those things you continue to think about,” Herbert said. “There are a lot of football games you just remember, whether they’re good or whether they’re bad, they stick with you. I think it’s great learning experience.
“No one felt worse than I did after that game and I think it’s important to continue to move forward and realize that it’s what happened,” Herbert continued. “It would be crazy of me to deny the truth of what happened and to live in this reality where if I tried to block it out, I don’t think that’s doing any good.
“I think just moving on and understanding what it was and attack the next game like you’ve always prepared for,” Herbert added.
