Justin Herbert could have become something of a concern for the Los Angeles Chargers following the injury he suffered against the Kansas City Chiefs, according to Peter King.

Justin Herbert is a player who in his first few seasons in the NFL, has shown that he has everything available to him in terms of the skillset and the players around him on the Los Angeles Chargers to become a true force in the NFL for a number of years to come.

Having been taken with the #6 pick of the 2020 NFL Draft as the successor to franchise quarterback Philip Rivers, Herbert had to wait a little bit before the Chargers put him on the field, and that came by pure accident as an injury suffered by starter Tyrod Taylor before a game against the Kansas City Chiefs meant that he was thrust into the limelight at the last minute.

He put on a show in his debut, and didn’t let up from there, going on to set a number of records in his first two seasons in the NFL, setting the record for most passing yards in a quarterback's first two seasons with 9,350, most total touchdowns in a quarterback's first two seasons with 77 and became the first quarterback to record 30 touchdown passes in each of his first two seasons.

He carried on that high level of performance last night against the Chiefs, throwing for 334 yards and 3 touchdowns in their thrilling loss, but his night was punctuated by two negative plays despite his brilliant performance. First he threw a crucial pick-six when the Chargers were knocking on the door to score again:

Video: Justin Herbert throws a costly pick-six:

But perhaps more worryingly, he also picked up a serious injury to his ribs after a big hit from Mike Danna.

Video: Mike Danna hits Justin Herbert hard:

Herbert played the rest of the game, taking the odd series out to recover, but was noticeably different when he tried to make plays. The Chargers lost the game 27-24, but the bigger concern has to be the health of their starting quarterback. 

Justin Herbert's health could be a hindrance

And Peter King, speaking on Pro Football Talk, thinks that the impact the hit had on Herbert could impact him in the long run:

“Part of you as a coach, I'm sure part of Brandon Staley wanted to say, ‘Hey, Chase Daniel, get in there. I can't watch this, this is too painful to watch’.

“But he didn't and they ended up you know, making the game very close, throwing a touchdown after and all that. But I just think that what you have to do the torque you put on your torso, when you're throwing a football and you're standing in, I don't care how well padded he's going to be against Jacksonville. I would be I'd be worried about the next couple of weeks for him. But we'll see.”

The good thing for the Chargers, is that playing on Thursday gives them that extra couple of days of recovery before their next Sunday game, so Herbert gets that little bit of extra time to see how he is recovering and if he can play.

But as King points out, the hit he took and how quarterbacks play, it could have a serious impact on what happens going forward, and it might give the Chargers a decision to make about whether or not they risk him going back in again.