Justin Herbert injury update: Chargers QB to play vs. Steelers despite high ankle sprain; backups both active

It’ll be a battle of Justins today in Pittsburgh between the Chargers and Steelers in Week 3. Justin Fields will continue to be the Steelers’ starting quarterback as Russell Wilson continues to deal with a calf injury. For the Chargers, Justin Herbert is active and set to start after initially being questionable with a high ankle sprain. Tracy Wolfson of NFL on CBS reports reports both Easton Stick and Taylor Heinicke are active as well.

Herbert worked out his ankle extensively during pregame warmups. He had been reportedly pushing to play today after sustaining the injury during last Sunday’s win over the Carolina Panthers. 

Given his injury, Herbert is expected to be pretty stationary on Sunday. The Steelers will surely look to take advantage of this by applying pressure, led by former Defensive Player of the Year T.J. Watt. Look for the Chargers to offset the Steelers’ pressure with trick plays, screens, misdirections, and a heavy dose of running backs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards. 

For the Steelers, Fields is hoping to lead the Steelers to more points after the offense scored just one touchdown in their first two games. Making that more challenging is the recent injury to offensive tackle Troy Fautanu, the Steelers’ first-round pick who will be replaced today in the starting lineup by 2023 first-round pick Broderick Jones.