EL SEGUNDO — Justin Herbert dropped to pass during team drills on the final day of the Chargers’ training camp Thursday. Quentin Johnston ran his assigned route, turned and caught a flawless spiral from Herbert. Again and again and again it happened in the last workout before the last exhibition game.
It was a fitting capper to a week in which Herbert returned to practice after a layoff of two-plus weeks because of a right foot injury. He delivered one excellent, on-target pass after another after another after another to a squadron of wide receivers, tight ends and running backs.
“Spectacular, incredible, I’m running out of adjectives to describe some of the throws Justin Herbert has made all week,” Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said.
Johnston has been the recipient of many of Herbert’s superb throws, especially during practices Wednesday and Thursday, when it seemed they forged a bond that was missing while the quarterback was sidelined and Easton Stick, Luis Perez and Max Duggan worked with the first team.
In fact, it appeared to be a dramatic change from last season, Johnston’s first in the NFL after a stellar career with Duggan at TCU. Herbert had long since established connections with Keenan Allen and Mike Williams before Johnston arrived as a first-round draft pick in 2023.
Allen and Williams are gone now. Allen was traded to the Chicago Bears and Williams was released before signing with the New York Jets as a free agent. Developing new favorite targets was one of Herbert’s many tasks during spring practice and, especially, during training camp.
By the looks of it this week, Herbert has established a go-to connection with Johnston. It would have been difficult to imagine such a thing during the 2023 season, when Johnston caught a modest 38 passes for 431 yards and two touchdowns. He did not seem to be a trusted target for Herbert.
Circumstances have changed for the better, however.
“(Johnston) has just been steadily climbing, going in a great direction,” Harbaugh said. “I think getting the offense down, they know it better than six months ago, four months ago, and they’ll know it better six months from now. You’re seeing a lot of the pieces of the puzzle there.
“Most of all, it’s him. It’s him attacking it. It’s him being really mentally strong, staying steady, attacking the meetings, the training and the practices. Great discipline, you know, football discipline, which is, to me, ‘Can you repeatedly do what you’re capable of doing?’ Definitely, see Quentin on that track.”
EXTRA POINTS
Harbaugh said Stick would start Saturday’s exhibition finale against the Dallas Cowboys at Arlington, Texas, and he would play the entire game. Harbaugh also said Perez would serve as Stick’s backup in the wake of the Chargers’ decision to waive Duggan, a seventh-round pick in 2023. …
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Injured edge rusher Joey Bosa worked out on the sideline as his teammates went through their practice, the first time he’s been seen on the field by reporters since he suffered an apparent hand injury Aug. 4. Harbaugh said he believed Bosa would be sound enough to play in the season-opening game Sept. 8. …
Safety Derwin James Jr. didn’t practice with his teammates this week. Harbaugh would only say that James was “working through something,” but declined to offer specifics. Harbaugh also said he expected James would be sound enough to play in the opener against the Las Vegas Raiders.
