Justin Herbert surprises teammates with red-tinted contact lenses at Chargers camp

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert is testing out tinted contact lenses as training camp opens.

He wore them Thursday under sunny skies after trying them out earlier in the week while working with the team’s rookies.

“They’re like sunglasses,” he said. “They really helped. I didn’t have to squint nearly as much.”

Herbert tried wearing a tinted visor a couple years ago and didn’t like having to constantly clean it off.

The contacts make Herbert’s blue eyes appear red.

“When I stepped in the huddle, I think some of the guys were a little surprised,” he said, smiling, “but they were like, ‘Oh, we’re going to score.'”

Chargers kicker Cameron Dicker told “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” that he and Herbert wore the red contacts to dinner recently.

“We looked like we were vampires,” Dicker said, adding that initially people didn’t recognize them. “We were like, ‘This is incredible.’”

Herbert said he thinks he could wear the contacts in games with a medical prescription due to sensitive eyes.

“If I’m able to see the field better because of it, it definitely helps,” he said.