Oregon QB Justin Herbert has fractured collarbone (Update)
Update: Oct. 2 – 3:20 p.m. ET
Oregon coach Willie Taggart confirmed that quarterback Justin Herbert indeed fractured his collarbone in the win over Cal. Though Taggart said Herbert will be “out for a while,” he doesn’t believe the injury is season-ending.
"Absolutely" a chance for Herbert to return this season, Taggart said.
— Andrew Greif (@AndrewGreif) October 2, 2017
Original story: Oct. 1 – 12:45 p.m. ET
The shoulder injury that sidelined Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert in the Ducks’ win vs. Cal on Saturday night is reportedly a broken collarbone.
According to Sports Illustrated’s Bruce Feldman, the injury is not expected to be season-ending.
Per source the injury #Oregon QB Justin Herbert suffered is to his NON-throwing shoulder. He's expected to be out around 4-6 weeks.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) October 1, 2017
Herbert wasn’t the only Duck who had to leave the game because of injury. Star running back Royce Freeman was hurt along with wide receiver Dillon Mitchell. And backup quarterback Taylor Alie had to exit the game in the fourth quarter, meaning Oregon was forced to burn the redshirt of freshman quarterback Braxton Burmeister.
Oregon won 45-24.
Herbert has thrown for 1,264 and nine touchdowns and two interceptions while completing over 68 percent of his passes this season. He emerged as the team’s starter a year ago in Oregon’s frustrating 2016 campaign.
Freeman, a senior, had just six carries before he left the game. He’s rushed for 592 yards in 2017 and 10 touchdowns already. Mitchell meanwhile has 19 catches for 220 yards.
Burmeister was a four-star recruit in the class of 2017 and the No. 7 dual-threat quarterback in the country according to Rivals.
Oregon’s schedule through the first week of November is one of the toughest in the country. The Ducks play No. 16 Washington State on Saturday and then play at Stanford, at UCLA, against No. 20 Utah and at No. 6 Washington. If Burmeister is the team’s starting quarterback for the foreseeable future, he’s going to have one heck of an introduction.
– – – – – – –
Nick Bromberg is the editor of Dr. Saturday and From the Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
More from Yahoo Sports:
• Protests continue during national anthem in Week 4
• O.J. Simpson released from Nevada prison
• Following protests, NFL owners searching for control
• Dolphins continue to struggle in shutout vs. New Orleans
