Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert’s absence from the last couple of weeks of the team’s offseason program came with a seal of approval from head coach Jim Harbaugh.
Herbert was back for Wednesday’s workout and Harbaugh said that the quarterback missed time in order to accompany his girlfriend Madison Beer on her concert tour. Harbaugh said he was “so excited” to have Herbert back and that he supported the quarterback’s decision to make time for his relationship because of how committed he has been to the team throughout their time together.
“I was happy he went to support Madison on her music tour,” Harbaugh said, via Gilberto Manzano of SI.com. “Madison supports him at the football games. He told me he wasn’t gonna be here for those two weeks and my first reaction was, ‘do you need a ride to the airport?’ He’s just been somebody that’s just here all the time. There’s times I’ve wanted to shoo him out of the building. He’s at every voluntary, every non-voluntary workout. The same guy that broke his hand and he was here the next day practicing. The next game, stiff-arming guys. Yeah, I was happy. Happy. Good balance.”
As Harbaugh noted, the work at this stage of the offseason is voluntary and Herbert’s absence from a portion of it wasn’t the cause of any alarm for the Chargers.
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The Chargers think they’ll have both of their starting offensive tackles on the field when training camp opens this summer.
Left tackle Rashawn Slater tore his patellar tendon last August and missed the entire season. Joe Alt moved from the right side to fill in for Slater, but multiple injuries limited him to six games before he landed on injured reserve for the remainder of the season.
On Wednesday, Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh said at a press conference, via multiple reporters, that the team expects both players to be ready for camp.
“It looks that way,” Harbaugh said.
The Chargers’ offensive line woes contributed to their latest first-round exit from the playoffs, so they’ll be hoping that Alt and Slater can both be around for all of a longer run during the 2026 season.
Chargers General Manager Joe Hortiz said last week that keeping safety Derwin James in the organization for his entire career was a high priority and that became a likelier outcome on Tuesday.
According to multiple reports, James has agreed to a three-year contract extension with the team. The deal is reportedly worth $75.6 million with $57.5 million in guaranteed money.
The $25.2 million average annual salary during the extension is the most at the safety position.
James was a first-round pick in 2018 and he has started every game he’s played since joining the Chargers. He was named a second-team All-Pro for the third time after posting 94 tackles, three interceptions, two sacks, and a forced fumble last season.
Safety Derwin James has been with the Chargers since entering the NFL in 2018 and the team would like to see him continue to wear their uniform through the end of his playing days.
James is moving into the final year of his current contract and General Manager Joe Hortiz said last month that he anticipated an acceleration of talks about a new deal after the draft. It’s almost June now and Hortiz said on Up & Adams that getting something done remains at the top of his list of priorities.
“It’s high, it’s high,” Hortiz said. “I’ve told the story, in Baltimore we had Derwin up there as the number one player on our board in that draft, you know, the No. 1 player available when we were picking. And we took a trade back and he got picked. I said to him when I first met him, I’m like, ‘Gosh, you should’ve been a Raven. We traded away from you, but I’m glad you’re not because I’m here now.’ He’s such a special, special leader and person. Like Justin [Herbert], the talent is real and it’s there, but the leader and motivator and energy he gives to everybody within the organization, throughout the entire building, it’s so unique. One of the best I’ve ever been around in terms of leadership, talent and character.”
James has been both productive and durable over recent seasons and he’ll get a chance to continue to do both for the Chargers as long as all goes well at the negotiating table.
The Chargers have announced a handful of promotions on their coaching staff.
On the offensive side of the ball, Shane Day will be the offensive passing game coordinator along with his previous title of quarterbacks coach while Josh Hammond is now an assistant wide receivers and special teams coach.
Defensive backs coach Steve Clinkscale will be the defensive passing game coordinator and defensive line coach Mike Elston will be the defensive run game coordinator. Mike Hiestand will have the title of defensive run game specialist.
The Chargers also announced that Jarrod James, Jimmy Thompson and Beau Snuggs have been named the team’s Alex G. Spanos Coaching Fellows for the 2026 season.
Wide receiver Keenan Allen’s return to the Chargers may not wind up being one year and done.
Allen spent 11 seasons with the Chargers and then returned to the team on a one-year deal in 2025 after spending a season with the Bears. Allen had 81 catches for 777 yards and four touchdowns to help the Chargers make the playoffs, but has not landed a job for the coming season yet.
That job could wind up being back in Los Angeles. Chargers General Manager Joe Hortiz said on Up & Adams that he’s remained in contact with Allen and that the team is open to a possible return.
“Right now we’re in a spot where we’re looking at the roster and we’re letting these young guys get a chance,” Hortiz said. “I’ve had some communications with Keenan’s representation and we talk. Right now, the guys that we have here, we’re letting them grow and develop. Nothing but love for Keenan and that door is not closed.”
Fourth-round pick Brenen Thompson was the only notable offseason addition to the receiving corps this offseason. Quentin Johnston, Ladd McConkey, Tre’ Harris, Derius Davis, and KeAndre Lambert-Smith all return after having been drafted in the last four years.
Tight end David Njoku spent an extended time on the open market as a free agent before signing a one-year deal with the Chargers earlier this month.
Njoku said on Tuesday that he “could’ve signed before the draft in other places,” but had his eye on the Chargers as a preferred destination because he believed it would be a “perfect fit” for his skills. He noted the presence of head coach Jim Harbaugh, offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel and quarterback Justin Herbert as some of the leading reasons for that belief.
While he hasn’t spent much time with his new team, it has been enough to reinforce Njoku’s feeling that he is in the right spot.
“I feel like we can be destructive,” Njoku said, via the team’s website. “We got the tools, we got the keys, we got the players to do it all. It’s up to us to put it all together.”
Putting it all together has been an issue for the Chargers in the Herbert era as they have lost all three of their playoff appearances as a road team in the wild card round. The additions of McDaniel and Njoku are big parts of this year’s bid to author a happier ending.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert is not attending Tuesday’s voluntary workout, according to multiple reports.
He also did not attend last week’s Phase 2 practice open to the media, Kris Rhim of ESPN reports.
The media has access to one of the three practices per week in this phase.
Backup quarterbacks Trey Lance and DJ Uiagalelei are taking the reps in place of Herbert. The Chargers have only three quarterbacks on their roster.
Herbert, 28, made his second Pro Bowl last season after completing 66.4 percent of his passes for 3,727 yards with 26 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in 16 games.
When Eli Manning refused to play for the Chargers after they drafted him first overall in 2004, it was widely believed that his father, former NFL quarterback Archie Manning, was behind the decision. Eli says that isn’t true.
Eli Manning appeared on Bussin’ With The Boys and said that while he and agent Tom Condon were on the same page that San Diego was the wrong place for him, his parents actually didn’t agree.
“My parents really weren’t supportive. My dad didn’t like the idea,” Manning said. “Now, he came to my defense and like supported me after everything was going down, but . . . he didn’t like that. And afterwards he took the brunt of a lot of the criticism because he came to my defense and people were saying, ‘Oh, you played in New Orleans all those years you didn’t win, so you’re trying to dictate like where your son’s going.’ And and he just bit his tongue and said, ‘Hey, this is what Eli wants to do and I support him’ and he did some media to try to save me from doing all the media and taking the hits.”
Manning said he respected then-Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer but could tell there was friction between Schottenheimer, the front office, and ownership, and didn’t think the Chargers were heading in the right direction.
“San Diego had the first pick, I didn’t really want to go there,” Manning said. “I just didn’t feel like they were the most committed team to winning at the time,”
When the possibility of a trade came up, Condon told Manning the Chargers were going to trade him to the Browns, and he didn’t want to go there, either. Fortunately for Manning, ultimately the Giants and Chargers made a deal, and Manning won two Super Bowl MVPs in New York.
Since the inauguration of the 47th president, the NFL has been engaged in a delicate dance regarding its diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. This week, one of the key aspects of the NFL’s efforts returns, with a twist.
As the league explained in March, the Accelerator program is back — and it’s open to everyone.
At the time, NFL senior V.P. and chief diversity and inclusion officer Jonathan Beane said that it’s “not us taking the direction of anyone on the outside” or a “reaction to D.C.”
The NFL canceled last year’s Accelerator program, prompting speculation that it was hoping to avoid scrutiny by the anti-DEI forces within the federal government.
According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, 34 coaches and executives are scheduled to participate. They include Chargers offensive coordinator (and former Dolphins head coach) Mike McDaniel and current (and former) Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy.
Many of the other coaches on the list have had head-coaching interviews. Per Fowler, Rams offensive coordinator Nate Scheelhaase, Lions passing game coordinator (and former Giants interim head coach) Mike Kafka, Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski, Seahawks defensive coordinator Aden Durde, Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, Vikings quarterbacks coach Josh McCown, and Broncos special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi appear on the roster.
The list of executives set for the 2026 Accelerator program includes Terrance Gray (Bills), Nolan Teasley (Seahawks), John McKay (Rams), R.J. Gillen (49ers), Chad Alexander (Chargers), Glenn Cook and Catherine Hickman (Browns), Brandon Brown (Giants), Josh Williams (49ers), James Liipfert (Texans), Mike Bradway (Chiefs), Lance Newmark (Commanders), and Mike Greenberg (Buccaneers).
Although the federal government has yet to scrutinize the Accelerator program, it has become one of the issues in Florida’s ongoing attack against the NFL’s diversity initiatives. In a May 1, 2026, letter to Florida attorney general James Uthmeier, NFL general counsel Ted Ullyot wrote this: "[T]he Accelerator program is open to all individuals, regardless of race or sex. It provides an opportunity for prospective candidates for front office positions to participate in networking events, interview training, and facilitated development sessions.”
The dramatic change in the demographics of the Accelerator program will only reinforce the perception that the NFL is trying to avoid a late-night social-media storm of criticism regarding its commitment to diversity (along with the new kickoff formation). Regardless, after last year’s conspicuous cancellation, the Accelerator program is back. And it’s giving plenty of names already in the pipeline for one of the biggest jobs (coach and General Manager) access to the key decision makers and extra help to eventually secure one of those positions.
