Rain and high winds pounded North Carolina early Monday with forecasters warning the weather system could grow into a tropical storm. Those weren’t the only dark clouds hovering over the Chargers’ downtown hotel.
Justin Herbert limped out of the stadium after a 26-3 win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday and, although X-rays were negative according to coach Jim Harbaugh, the quarterback’s status going forward isn’t clear.
“He got rolled up on,” Harbaugh said. “I’m sure there’ll be further evaluations as the week goes on.”
The coach said in the preseason that he does not like discussing injuries in detail and he was true to his word Monday, declining to say which leg was bothering Herbert — it’s the right — and whether it was an ankle or something else.
“He said he got rolled up on,” Harbaugh repeated. “We’ll know more when the injury report comes out on Wednesday.”
Herbert has completed 31 of 46 passes for 274 yards and three touchdowns to help the Chargers to their first 2-0 start since 2012. And he, too, seemed unconcerned.
“We’ll know more the next couple of days, but I was able to finish the game and keep moving around on it,” he said Sunday, although he was limping noticeably as he headed toward the team bus.
The Chargers resume practice Wednesday at North Carolina Charlotte’s facilities.
With the Chargers scheduled to play Sunday in Pittsburgh, Harbaugh had approached the players during the summer with the idea of staying on the East Coast after the Charlotte game, allowing them to get a full week of practice and avoiding two cross-country flights.
He was pleasantly surprised by the response.
“It wouldn’t work if people were opposed to it. And our guys haven’t been,” Harbaugh said. “They were like, ‘Hey, let’s do that. That would be fun.’”
The advantages go well beyond full practices and less travel, though.
“Getting the body clock right. That’s the main reason for doing it,” Harbaugh said. “Some of the studies, by people a lot smarter than me, have figured out that’s a good way to do it.”
Staying together, away from friends and family for a week also provides an opportunity for bonding, which could prove important for a team that has undergone massive changes.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to be together, to focus on our game, and in the off time spend time with each other, get to know each other,” Herbert said. “You spend a week with your guys, especially like it is in camp, I think it’s an opportunity for us to grow and to get better.
“We’ll watch the film on this one and keep pushing. I’m looking forward to it.”
Even the rain, which is forecast to continue for most of the week, was seen as a positive.
“I hope we have a rain practice,” Harbaugh said. “You know we’re gonna have a game like that on one of these Sundays. So yeah, if we could get a practice in the rain, it would be really good for us.”
Feeding and housing a travel party of more than 100 for a week can be expensive, but Harbaugh said the Spanos family, the team owners who will have to foot the bill, backed the idea as well.
“Appreciate the Spanos family for doing whatever it takes to make that happen,” Harbaugh said. “We know that they’ve got our backs. They’ve got our back, front and sides. “It makes you want to run through the proverbial wall for our ownership because they truly care about us.”