LOS ANGELES — Quentin Johnston was confused.
Ahead of the Los Angeles Chargers’ 2025 preseason game against the New Orleans Saints, one in which none of the starters were playing, he watched as quarterback Justin Herbert sprinted back and forth 25 yards a few times, then took a brief break before repeating.
Eventually, Johnston realized that Herbert was doing the team’s conditioning test, a rigorous running assessment players must pass at the start of training camp to prove they are in shape. As a part of that test, they run 150 yards six times, split into six 25-yard back-and-forth sprints, breaking for 40 seconds after each 150.
The amount of sets, reps and rest periods varies by position group, but it’s a test that most players dread when they return for the beginning of football season. The fact that Herbert was willingly doing the conditioning test puzzled him.
“My first reaction was like ‘His ass tripping,'” Johnston said with a laugh. “But if he like it, I love it. Just seeing that, I’m not surprised that he has been running the way he has.”
Herbert has always been mobile — he had the third-fastest 40-yard dash time of quarterbacks in the 2020 NFL combine at 4.68 seconds — and he has made defenses who don’t account for his running ability pay throughout his career. The Pittsburgh Steelers learned that in his second season, when Herbert rushed for a career-high 90 yards in the Chargers’ 41-37 win.
But in his sixth season, Herbert has been running more often than ever — partly because he…
