After a long offseason, fans can finally rejoice. Football is officially back. The NFL preseason starts tomorrow, July 31, with the Los Angeles Chargers facing the Detroit Lions in the annual Hall of Fame game.
Although the preseason is underway, many teams will rest their starters to avoid injuries before the regular season. So will Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert be playing tomorrow? Here is everything you need to know about his status for the game.
What is Justin Herbert’s Status for the NFL Preseason Opener Hall of Fame Game?
While Chargers fans are eager to see Herbert in his second season with head coach Jim Harbaugh, they’ll have to wait at least another week. Harbaugh announced that Herbert will not be dressing for the game against Detroit.
Instead, Los Angeles will start former first-round pick Trey Lance, who was drafted No.3 overall in 2021 by the San Francisco 49ers. Lance will play the entire first half and lead a drive in the third quarter.
Undrafted rookie free agent signee DJ Uiagalelei will take over for the rest of the game, with veteran Taylor Heinicke serving as an emergency third-string option.
Harbaugh says Trey Lance will play 1st quarter, 2nd quarter, and a drive of the 3rd quarter. Then DJU will suit up for the rest.
Taylor Heinicke is emergency backup third. Justin Herbert will not dress. https://t.co/i3ZnAUgAfx pic.twitter.com/KBN3IxuuQf
— Alex Insdorf (@alexinsdorf99) July 29, 2025
The Chargers’ decision to sit Herbert is wise. He has already established himself as one of the league’s best quarterbacks, and an injury during the preseason would be a significant setback for the organization.
How to Watch the Hall of Fame Game
- Date: Thursday, July 31
- Start time: 8 p.m. ET
- Channel: NBC
- Live stream options: Peacock, YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV
Can Herbert Bounce Back From a Four-INT Playoff Game and Lead a Rebuilt Chargers Offense?
Herbert will enter his sixth NFL season looking to rebound from a disastrous Wild Card playoff loss to the Houston Texans, where he threw four interceptions.
Justin Herbert threw 4 interceptions in the Wild Card game vs the Texans.
The 1st one was kinda his fault
The 2nd one was probably his fault
The 3rd and 4th had nothing to do with himHe’s just an easy scapegoat, & the picks are an easy stat to point to. Dumb argument. pic.twitter.com/ZaaRfwgn18
— Joe (@JoeA_NFL) June 22, 2025
Despite the postseason setback, Herbert had a strong 2024 regular season. He threw for 3,870 yards, 23 touchdowns, and just three interceptions while leading the Chargers to an 11-6 record and a playoff berth. He ranked 14th in our regular season QB+ metric with a grade of 78.5.
Unfortunately, Herbert lost one of his top receivers from last season, Josh Palmer, who left the team in free agency for the Buffalo Bills. The team signed veteran wide receiver Mike Williams this offseason, but he retired earlier this month.
The Chargers only return two receivers, Quentin Johnston and Ladd McConkey, who had over 50 catches and 700 yards last season. This means that Herbert will have a lot of pressure on his shoulders to carry the team’s passing offense in 2025.
Previewing the Lions-Chargers Hall of Fame Game
Los Angeles Chargers Notes
- The Chargers won 11 games last season, with four of their six losses coming by a single score. Their arrow is believed to be pointing up as they look to win double-digit games in consecutive regular seasons for the first time since 2006-07.
- The trenches are a clear focus of this coaching staff, and this is the most natural spot for this team to develop in a significant way. Per PFSN’s Offensive Line+ grading system, Los Angeles hasn’t produced a top-20 unit in three straight seasons (2024: 26th) and Justin Herbert’s efficiency has suffered as a result:
- 2022-24 when pressured: 70.2 (18th among qualifiers)
- 2022-24 when not pressured: 106.4 (10th among qualifiers)
- Mekhi Becton signed a two-year deal in March after winning a Super Bowl with the Eagles. Philadelphia finished the year fifth in our offensive line rankings, and Becton showed versatility by shifting from tackle to guard — optionality that could prove valuable as this season wears on.
- The defense took a huge step forward in 2024 and added depth to their front in April with Jamaree Caldwell (DT, Oregon) in the third round and Kyle Kennard (EDGE, South Carolina) in the fourth round. The Chargers had the sixth-best defense in the NFL last season in PFSN’s Defense+ metric, which was a significant improvement after being ranked 23rd the previous year.
- With the division trending up in terms of offensive upside, Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh has made his intentions clear on defense. The quick-read abilities of QBs in today’s game are as impressive as ever, and the numbers support that thought. In 2024, 6.4% of blitzed pass attempts resulted in a touchdown, a massive spike from the 5.2% rate in 2023. The Chargers have prioritized creating pressure and are angling toward a team that will be able to do so without having to allocate additional resources to make it happen.
- On the skill side of things, there were some impactful moves made this offseason. Najee Harris signed a one-year deal ($9.5 million), but he won’t be playing in the Hall of Fame game after suffering an eye injury on Fourth of July. However, his role was trending to more of a veteran presence than a true RB1 even before the injury. Despite handling the bulk of the workload in Pittsburgh, Harris graded outside of the top-20 running backs per RB+ in each of the past three seasons. These struggles make No. 22 overall pick Omarion Hampton the favorite to lead this backfield in touches as a rookie. Hampton is playing tonight and is one of the top players to watch.
- Hampton has an NFL-ready body and showed well over his final two seasons with the Tar Heels, showcasing not only a nose for the end zone (30 rushing scores) but also fluidity in space (67 receptions). This offense wants to grind out yardage on the ground, so Hampton will be counted on in a significant way from the jump.
Omarion Hampton Ranked in the 97th Percentile in Yards After Contact Per Attempt (4.3)
➖Age: 21 (Early Declare)
➖Size: 6’0, 220 lbsHampton’s Averages over the last 2 Seasons:
➖24 Touches Per Game
➖150.4 Yards Per Game
➖1.32 TD’s Per GameFuture Workhorse RB1 in the NFL pic.twitter.com/Dfd8kA8zIi
— Austin Abbott (@AustinAbbottFF) January 29, 2025
- When the Bolts do take to the air, Josh Palmer is no longer a part of the mix. After four years with the franchise, he inked a three-year deal with the Buffalo Bills this offseason and was replaced during the draft by Tre Harris (No. 55 overall pick). From a size/athleticism standpoint, the newcomer profiles similarly to the vertical threat he is replacing, but his production at Ole Miss paints a more optimistic picture.
- Ladd McConkey graded out as our 11th-best receiver in the NFL during his sparkling rookie season and he’ll certainly command plenty of looks, but Harris stands to be the next most looked at receiver in a room filled with uncertainty. The majority of McConkey’s production came underneath in 2024 (56.3% of his targets and 58.5% of his catches came less than 10 yards downfield), a skill set that figures to open up downfield opportunities for the 6’3” rookie.
Detroit Lions Notes
- The Lions had a franchise-best 15-2 record in 2024, but will look a little different after experiencing some turnover this offseason.
- Detroit was the only team to see both its coordinators become head coaches in the offseason, with Ben Johnson taking the Chicago Bears job and Aaron Glenn becoming the New York Jets head coach. The Lions are the fifth team since 2000 to lose both coordinators to head coaching jobs in the same offseason, along with the 2023 Eagles, 2014 Bengals, 2007 Chargers, and 2005 Patriots.
- The good news is that all four of those teams made the playoffs after losing both coordinators. The 2007 Chargers made the AFC Championship Game, while the 2005 Patriots won a playoff game before bowing out in the Divisional Round. The Eagles and Bengals both won double-digit games, but lost in the Wild Card round on the road.
- Detroit had PFSN’s No. 1-ranked unit in Offense+ last season, recording a 94.9 (A) grade. The Lions return all of their skill position starters from that group. The 2024 Lions offense featured PFSN’s:
- No. 3-ranked QB (Jared Goff – 90.9 grade)
- No. 2-ranked RB (Jahmyr Gibbs – 89.9)
- No. 3-ranked WR (Amon-Ra. St. Brown – 91.2)
- No. 10-ranked TE (Sam LaPorta – 82.3)
- The bigger question mark is on the offensive line, which lost Frank Ragnow (retirement) and Kevin Zeitler (free agency). Detroit was the No. 7 overall offensive line last season, recording an 82.8 grade in OL+. All three interior spots could see a new starter, with former left guard Graham Glasgow potentially kicking over to center and Christian Mahogany and Tate Ratledge occupying the guard spots.
- Defensively, the Lions finished with the No. 4 overall defense (81.4) in PFSN’s Defense+ metric despite a spate of injuries at the end of the season and not having Aidan Hutchinson for the majority of the year. Detroit had a top-10 weekly Defense+ grade in seven of its first 11 games before injuries caused the unit to plummet. The Lions had a 63.2 (D) Defense+ grade in the Divisional Round loss to the Washington Commanders, the unit’s worst performance of the season.
- Even in just five games, Hutchinson led the Lions with 7.5 sacks and tied for the team lead with 45 pressures. Hutchinson was the top-graded defender by EDGE+ in two weeks (91.7 in Week 1 and 90.5 in Week 3). Those were the two-highest graded games of his career to date, and four of his top 13 career games came prior to his injury.
- The secondary made a notable swap, with the Lions signing cornerback D.J. Reed to replace the departed Carlton Davis. By PFSN’s CB+ metric, the Lions got the better player. Reed was our 25th-ranked cornerback (81.7 grade), while Davis ranked 48th (77.1). In fact, Reed has graded out higher than Davis each of the past four seasons. Reed was our fifth overall CB in 2022 (89.7) and eighth overall in 2021 (88.6).
