LA Chargers’ Teammate Takes Issue with “Quiet Leader” Connotation for Justin Herbert

The former Oregon Duck Football quarterback is often accused of being overly timid in the locker room. Los Angeles Chargers’ offensive tackle Rashawn Slater begs to differ in a recent interview.

Jun 13, 2024; Costa Mesa, CA, USA; Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) at a press conference during minicamp at the Hoag Performance Center. | Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

He’s a former Oregon Duck great, a William V. Campbell Trophy winner, the sixth overall NFL Draft pick in 2020, the Los Angeles Chargers’ starting quarterback with impressive numbers and a record-breaking contract re-sign, and the prior captain of the Sheldon High School Fishing Team; there’s a lot to be said about Justin Herbert.

One of Herbert’s teammates is claiming a piece of criticism lobbed at the former Duck simply isn’t true.

“Well I think it’s funny that everyone calling Justin a ‘quiet leader’, isn’t actually on the team, so they have no idea what his leadership is like,” Chargers’ offensive tackle Rashawn Slater said in an interview with Kay Adams of the Up & Adams show.

Herbert has always been perceived as shy. It’s a running joke on the Chargers’ social media accounts that Herbert rarely gets involved with team interviews and bows away from the camera.

Adams previously spoke with former Chargers’ cornerback Chris Harris Jr. about the same topic, to which Harris Jr. replied that Herbert was missing, “That clutch factor.” 

Harris Jr. then referred to quarterback greats such as Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and former Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Tom Brady who he claims, have leadership qualities to bring a team back to win, and Herbert doesn’t possess those qualities just yet. 

Harris Jr. also stated in that same interview he believes new Chargers’ head coach Jim Harbaugh would be a person to bring that “clutch factor” out of Herbert.

Dec 3, 2023; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) is congratulated by fans after defeating the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. | David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

In his interview with Adams, Slater disagrees.

“Justin, he’s riled up,” Slater said, “He’s vocal. He’s all those things. He’s a great leader.”

“People see more than they hear and just the way he conducts his business and the way he goes about it, I think he’s always been a great leader,” Slater added.

This dialogue around Herbert’s aura has been festering since he played for the Oregon Ducks. I can remember as a student going to the University of Oregon at the same time as Herbert, he was characterized as quiet by his peers. However, being quiet doesn’t equal being a bad leader and his teammates in the locker room should be able to delineate that.

“I don’t think I’m really an introvert,” Herbert said in an interview with Joe Schad of USA Today during the 2020 Senior Bowl, “I think I’m somewhere in the middle. There are shades of both in me. It’s something I’ve really worked on. And the coaches have done a great job of pulling that out of me.”

Slater has protected Herbert on the line for three seasons, with 2,449 snaps played wearing the powder blue and bolt yellow.