Brandon Staley: Justin Herbert wanted to be out there with his teammates - NBC Sports

But quarterback Justin Herbert — who’s dealing with fractured rib cartilage — was still in the game throwing passes and taking hits through the final play.

He wanted to be out there with his teammates,” head coach Brandon Staley said after the game.

For his part, Herbert said he felt fine on the field and didn’t want to disappoint his teammates.

“I didn’t want to go out and I felt like we were getting the ball out quick,” Herbert said in his press conference.

“I felt like I was safe out there and I didn’t want to quit on my team.”.

Justin’s going to be feeling like this when he’s out there playing.

If you guys know the injury, it’s not like it’s going to feel better next week or the week after that.

Staley added there likely is a point that he would pull Herbert from a game.

Herbert will never remove himself from a game so it’s up to the HC to protect his franchise QB.

Easy to rip Staley for putting Herbert at risk in a blowout, but if Herbert insists on playing, I’ll let him play.

Lets risk Herbert getting hurt so he can play with his friends

“Staley added there likely is a point that he would pull Herbert from a game