EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Justin Herbert is dealing with an ankle injury for the second time this season.
The Chargers quarterback did not practice Wednesday as Los Angeles began preparations for its game Sunday against Tampa Bay. Herbert injured his left ankle during the first quarter of last Sunday's 19-17 loss at Kansas City.
Herbert said Wednesday that the injury occurred during a 7-yard scramble on third down during the opening drive. Television cameras showed him grimacing and walking slowly to the sideline after the play.
“It was difficult to play with," he said. "It was one of those things where we limited some of the runs out of the pocket. I didn't feel great, but it was one of those things to play through.”
Herbert's left leg was later bruised after taking a hard hit from linebacker Nick Bolton during the second quarter. Herbert missed only one play and completed 21 of 30 passes for 213 yards and a touchdown.
“The contusion, I think that is something that is easily recoverable. I'm doing everything I can with the ankle,” Herbert said. “If I felt like I could have practiced at 100% and make sure everyone was able to get full-speed reps, I would have. I didn't think I was able to do that today, so the trainers and I were on the same page.”
Herbert suffered a high sprain to his right ankle during the third quarter of a 26-3 win at Carolina on Sept. 15. That limited his mobility and some of the play calls in losses to Pittsburgh and Kansas City the next two games.
However, Herbert is not in a walking boot this time, which was the case with the injury earlier in the season. The fifth-year quarterback also said the pain tolerance with his ankle injury is better to deal with compared to the earlier one.
“I’d like to see him get treatment and not be on his feet. He will do everything in his power to play on Sunday,” coach Jim Harbaugh said.
The Chargers have lost two of their last three, but are the sixth seed in the AFC with an 8-5 record. After facing NFC South-leading Tampa Bay on Sunday, Los Angeles hosts Denver in a Thursday night matchup on Dec. 19 as both teams are vying for a playoff spot.
It's the second time in three seasons Herbert is dealing with an injury after a game at Kansas City. In 2022, he fractured rib cartilage after taking a hard hit from Chiefs defensive lineman Michael Danna during the fourth quarter.
Herbert missed two weeks during training camp because of an injury to the plantar fascia in his right foot. He also had a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder near the end of the 2022 season and two broken fingers last year, including one on his throwing hand that caused him to miss the final four games.
Herbert has joined Tom Brady as the only players who have not thrown an interception in 11 straight games with a minimum of 15 attempts in each game. Brady accomplished the feat with New England in 2010.
The last time Herbert was picked off was midway through the first quarter on Sept. 15 by Carolina’s Jaycee Horn. Herbert has also gone 335 consecutive pass attempts without an interception, the fifth-longest streak in league history.
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Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert speaks during a news conference following an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) is sacked for a 4-yard loss by Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton (98) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) walks off the field after being injured during the first half of an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
GREEN LAKE, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin man who faked his own drowning and left his wife and three children for Eastern Europe willingly returned to the U.S. after four months and was charged Wednesday with obstructing an intense lake search for his body.
The criminal complaint charging Ryan Borgwardt with misdemeanor obstruction offers a detailed account of how the 45-year-old pulled off his disappearance, including how he struggled to emerge from the water, almost didn’t make it through customs on his way overseas and was living in the country of Georgia when he realized he had left too many clues behind.
Police said Borgwardt turned himself in to authorities at the Green Lake County sheriff’s office in Wisconsin on Tuesday. A judge entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf during a brief court hearing on Wednesday afternoon. He was released on $500 bail, although he would only have to pay that amount if he misses a future court date.
Borgwardt told Judge Mark Slate that he would represent himself going forward since he has only $20 in his wallet. The judge advised he could get a court-appointed lawyer but didn’t name one for him.
It’s unclear what Borgwardt plans to do now. His parents were in court, but he was led out by bailiffs after the proceeding ended without speaking to them. Bailiffs escorted the couple out through a rear door to avoid waiting reporters.
Borgwardt was reported missing on Aug. 12. According to a criminal complaint, Borgwardt told investigators that he had been researching how to disappear, studying lake deaths and how deep a body has to sink so it won't resurface.
He attended church with his family on the morning of Aug. 11 and then put his plan into motion that night, driving 50 miles (80 kilometers) from his home in Watertown to Green Lake. Sheriff Mark Podoll said Borgwardt told investigators he picked Green Lake because it's the deepest lake in Wisconsin.
He paddled his kayak to the middle of the lake, inflated a raft he brought with him, overturned the kayak and paddled back to shore in the raft, dumping his cell phone and a tackle box with other identification in the lake on the way, according to the complaint.
Borgwardt said “he had to make this believable so that everyone, including law enforcement, would think he drowned in the lake,” the complaint said.
He told investigators he struggled to get out of the lake, sinking into waist-deep muck. Worried that police would find his muddy footprints, he tried to wash them off the road before retrieving an electric bike he had stashed nearby. He traveled 70 miles (112 kilometers) through the night to Madison, where he caught a bus to the Toronto airport.
He said he barely got through Canadian customs because he didn't have his driver's license, which he had thrown in the lake. He eventually boarded a flight to Paris and then to an unspecified country in Asia.
After landing in that country, a woman picked him up. They spent a couple days in a hotel, and he later took up residency in the country of Georgia, according to the complaint and a probable cause statement.
Investigators contacted Borgwardt through information they found on a laptop he left behind, including a photo of the woman he traveled to meet. He told investigators he had to leave the laptop behind to make his death believable but left too much information on it, according to the complaint.
Podoll said in November that investigators found passport photos, inquiries about moving funds to foreign banks and communication with a woman from Uzbekistan. They also discovered that Borgwardt took out a $375,000 life insurance policy in January. Podoll has said the policy was for his family.
The sheriff’s office has said the search for Borgwardt’s body lasted more than a month and cost at least $35,000. Borgwardt told investigators he often checked the news for updates on his disappearance and thought the search would last only a few weeks, according to the complaint.
Borgwardt told investigators that he knew police would find him but he wanted to delay their efforts for as long as he could, according to the complaint.
Podoll announced in November that investigators had made contact with Borgwardt and were “pulling at his heartstrings” to come home.
The sheriff told reporters during a news conference Wednesday morning that Borgwardt returned to the U.S. willingly and turned himself at the sheriff's office in the Green Lake County Government Center on Tuesday afternoon. He declined to detail Borgwardt's return trip, saying only that “he got on an airplane.” He also declined to elaborate on what drove Borgwardt to return.
“That’s going to be up to him someday," the sheriff said. “We’re not going to release that. ... We brought a dad back on his own.”
This story has been updated to correct the name of the center where Ryan Borgwardt turned himself in. It is the Green Lake County Government Center, not the Green Lake County Justice Center.
Associated Press writer Ed White in Detroit contributed to this report.
Ryan Borgwardt appears in a Green Lake County courtroom Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Green Lake. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Ryan Borgwardt appears in a Green Lake County courtroom Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Green Lake. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Ryan Borgwardt appears in a Green Lake County courtroom Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Green Lake. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll address reporters during a news conference Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in Green Lake, Wis., announcing that Ryan Borgwardt has been taken into custody. (AP Photo/Todd Richmond)
This photo released on Dec. 11, 2024 by the Green Lake County Sheriff's Office shows Ryan Borgwardt's booking photo after being taken into custody in Green Lake, Wis. (Green Lake County Sheriff Office via AP)
