Paris to Practice: Justin Herbert Returns as Jim Harbaugh Drops Massive Injury Update

The Los Angeles Chargers are breaking headlines left and right this week. Yesterday, the Chargers announced that they and All-Pro defensive back Derwin James Jr. had reached an agreement on an extension.

One of the surprise storylines from early OTAs was the absence of Justin Herbert. Several national media figures pounced on the opportunity to generate interest with segments questioning why Herbert was not at early voluntary OTAs.

Justin Herbert has lived, breathed and been obsessed with football since he was drafted by the Chargers. The only hobbies Herbert had outside of football that was known to the public was fishing, golfing and hanging out with Cameron Dicker while wearing red contacts.

Former teammates, like veteran edge rusher Kyle Van Noy, even noted that Herbert may need to relax a bit. Coming of a season where Herbert saw historic levels of pressure and took an unsustainable amount of damage behind a patchwork of offensive lines, Herbert has earned a little extra vacation.

Herbert spent the past two weeks traveling with his pop-star girlfriend Madison Beer on the start of her European tour. Fans were treated to updates as Herbert was routinely a part of Beer's presence whether it was Herbert calling her while she was performing a sound check or her changing the lyrics of a song to include him. The tour comes on the heels of Herbert being the main subject in her most recent music video.

Herbert is finally back in the building. It is believed he traveled back to Los Angeles from Paris, France after what ended up as his last noted sighting.

he’s here + he’s perfect pic.twitter.com/9HD8OJ8DSf
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) May 27, 2026

Head coach Jim Harbaugh was nothing but supportive of Herbert's time away to support Madison as she has been at games supporting him. Harbaugh even jokingly offered to take him to the airport during a scheduled media appearance after Wednesday's OTAs.

Chargers HC Jim Harbaugh confirms Justin Herbert is at practice today.

"I was happy he went to support Madison [Beer] on her music tour. 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… pic.twitter.com/caIt8vhKN0
— Alex Insdorf (@alexinsdorf99) May 27, 2026

Harbaugh provides injury updates for Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt

Justin Herbert's triumphant return from Europe was not the only big news of the day. Jim Harbaugh also provided injury updates on the Chargers' talented tackle tandem as they are working their way back from devastating injuries in 2025.

Harbaugh says that both Alt and Slater are ahead of schedule in their recovery process. They were both at practice today and lining up at their respective spots along the offensive line. When asked whether the pair would be ready for the start of training camp, Harbaugh responded that it appears that they will be.

Jim Harbaugh on if he expects Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt to be ready for the start of training camp: "It looks that way."
— Daniel Popper (@danielrpopper) May 27, 2026

Following a season of devastating injuries, seeing the talented pair of tackles back in action is a welcome sight. In regards to injuries, Ladd McConkey was at practice but working off to the side with trainers on Wednesday and his status will be worth keeping an eye on.

Ladd McConkey isn’t practicing today, currently working off to the side with a trainer
— Kris Rhim (@krisrhim1) May 27, 2026

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