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Tight end Patrick Herbert and QB Justin Herbert
There are plenty of factors NFL players have to consider when choosing between competing offers: money, coaching staff, depth chart, and scheme fit all come to mind. Patrick Herbert apparently had another pretty effective tiebreaker available when deciding where to continue his career: the starting quarterback is his older brother.
The former Jacksonville Jaguars tight end cleared waivers Monday and chose to join the Los Angeles Chargers practice squad despite receiving offers from multiple teams. Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reported that Herbert opted for Los Angeles, joking that the 25-year-old had already done “extensive research” on Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert.
Patrick Herbert Found A Pretty Familiar Quarterback Room
Fair enough.
Most practice-squad tight ends need several weeks to figure out what their quarterback likes, how he wants routes run and where a ball might arrive on certain concepts.
Patrick can probably just text Justin from the other room.
The brothers grew up in Eugene, Oregon, attended Sheldon High School and eventually played together at Oregon during Patrick’s freshman season in 2019. Justin was finishing a senior year that included a Pac-12 championship and Rose Bowl victory while Patrick redshirted after limited action.
They never connected for a pass in an actual college game. Seven years later, there is suddenly a path toward correcting that while becoming the first pair of brothers to connect for a pass in an NFL game.
Patrick remained at Oregon through 2024 and finished his career with 31 catches for 388 yards and four touchdowns. Jacksonville signed him as an undrafted free agent following the 2025 NFL Draft, and he spent his entire rookie year on the Jaguars’ practice squad before signing a reserve/future contract in January.
He made another run at Jacksonville’s active roster this summer, catching two passes for 12 yards in the preseason finale against Tampa Bay, but the Jaguars waived him during Sunday’s final cuts.
Instead of returning to Jacksonville’s practice squad, he went west.
The Herbert Brothers Were Already Practicing Together Anyway
There is another detail that makes the reunion even more convenient.
Justin spent a significant portion of his summer throwing to Patrick while adjusting to new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel’s system. The Chargers revealed in July that the younger Herbert helped his brother work through new footwork and movement patterns before training camp.
So Patrick essentially spent his offseason functioning as Justin’s personal tight end and has now managed to turn that into employment with the same organization.
Not bad networking.
There is no guarantee the brothers will actually share an NFL field. Patrick is joining the practice squad, while Los Angeles kept David Njoku, Charlie Kolar and Oronde Gadsden II on its initial 53-man roster at tight end.
But practice-squad players get elevated throughout a season, especially when injuries start piling up.
That means there is now at least a chance Justin Herbert eventually drops back during an actual NFL game and throws to the same little brother who followed him from Sheldon High School to Oregon.