It has been a monumental offseason for Justin Herbert. On the professional front, after a disappointing playoff showing, the Los Angeles Chargers made a huge change, bringing in Mike McDaniel as the new offensive coordinator.
However, there might have been even bigger news on the personal front, as he officially got engaged to pop culture icon Madison Beer. But mixing the two in the public setting of training camp has led to some pushback against the couple.
Justin Herbert Isn’t Living Down the Madison Beer Video
After sparks of their relationship began making the rounds in 2025, the two announced their engagement in July 2026. While the pair received an outpouring of love from virtually every corner of the football world, the practice video has gotten the opposite reaction.
During training camp, a clip of the two sitting near the sidelines quickly went viral. In the video, it looked like the two were playing with each other’s hair, but the setting seemed inappropriate for their public display of affection (PDA). Now, former head coach Jon Gruden has voiced his disapproval.
During a segment of the “Pardon My Take” podcast, he made it clear that he wasn’t a fan of the interaction. Gruden said, “I just think there’s a time and a place for this. I’m an old-school coach. It’s not the old time anymore, I understand that.”
There’s to much canoodling going on in the NFL pic.twitter.com/ZAhLZOtRxc
— Pardon My Take (@PardonMyTake) August 12, 2026
It remains to be seen if the clip becomes a bigger storyline over the course of the season. But for Herbert, the ultimate answer to any of his critics is going to be the production on the field.
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Last season, as his offensive line suffered major injuries, his numbers also dipped noticeably. As a result, Herbert finished with 3,727 passing yards and 26 touchdowns through the air against 13 interceptions.
As a team, though, the Chargers were extremely good, finishing the season with an 11-6 record. But in the playoffs, they fell to the eventual AFC champions, the New England Patriots, in the Wild Card round, 16-3.
Herbert, suiting up in the third postseason game of his career, had a disastrous showing. Recording just 159 passing yards and no touchdowns, he was sacked on six separate occasions. He tried to contribute with his legs, which amounted to 57 rushing yards on 10 carries.
Another underwhelming showing has made the noise against him even louder. And with a section of fans now having the training camp video to point back to, the pressure will be on the two-time Pro Bowler to prove them wrong.
