The Chargers — and Justin Herbert — returned to work Monday in El Segundo.
The Bolts practiced without pads for nearly two hours as they gear up for Saturday's preseason finale in Dallas.
Here is the Chargers Camp Report from Monday's practice:
1. Herbert back in action
Justin Herbert is back.
The Chargers quarterback practiced Monday for the first time since July 31. He had been in a walking boot for most of the past two weeks while dealing with an injury to the plantar fascia in his right foot.
But there was Herbert, wearing his usual gold jersey, back in action on a limited basis.
And it didn't take long to notice he was back by the way Herbert simply zipped the ball all over the field in 7-on-7 drills.
"It was great," Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh said of Herbert's return. "I thought I heard music ... voice of angels, maybe.
"I was excited," Harbaugh added. "I think [his teammates] were excited, too. I don't know if they heard the angels singing like I did."
Herbert didn't partake in any 11-on-11 drills Monday, which was expected after the team said he would have a "graduated return to play protocol" once he was back on the practice field.
For Herbert, that meant a 7-on-7 drill early in practice followed by a 7-on-7, 2-minute drill and then a final 7-on-7 period.
Herbert came out blazing, firing a dot over the middle to Zach Heins on his first throw of the day that you could hear from 30 yards away.
Herbert completed 11 of 12 passes during the initial 7-on-7 drill, connecting with Heins three times while finding Cornelius Johnson, Luke Benson and Donald Parham, Jr. twice apiece. He also completed a pass to Stone Smartt in the drill that mostly featured young tight ends.
Herbert also came out for a 2-minute drill when the offense was at their own 40-yard line with 80 seconds on the clock.
The franchise quarterback hit Ladd McConkey and Smartt to pick up a first down before Joshua Palmer caught a 5-yard pass on fourth-and-4 to move the sticks.
Herbert eventually spiked the ball on third down with four seconds left that would have set Cameron Dicker up for a 45-yard field goal.
Harbaugh summed up Herbert's day overall.
"Good. Really good. Great with a capital G," Harbaugh said. "No drop off. Pinpoint accuracy. Looked really good."
2. Defense shines in red zone
The Bolts spent a chunk of Monday's session working on third downs in the red-zone in an 11-on-11 drill, and it was the defense that came away victorious by winning eight of the 12 reps.
Easton Stick took the first four reps of the drill. He completed his first two passes short of the end zone before firing incomplete on his next two attempts.
Luis Perez came in for the fifth play and threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Palmer before Stick returned for the next three plays. He threw a touchdown to Heins before Morgan Fox tallied a "sack" and the offense couldn't score on a broken play.
Perez was under center for the final four plays and threw touchdowns to Smartt and Johnson to close out the drill.
3. Odds and ends
Kristian Fulton snagged another interception Monday when Herbert's pass hit off the hands of Quentin Johnston and landed right in the cornerback's lap.
Rookie Tre'Mon Morris Brash also flashed with a "sack" in team drills.
Finally, while Bradley Bozeman and Jamaree Salyer suited up for practice, they were limited in their return.
Trey Pipkins III did not practice, meaning the first-team offensive line consisted of, from left to right, Rashawn Slater, Zion Johnson, Brenden Jaimes, Foster Sarell and Joe Alt.
