Rams' Quentin Lake sent apology text to Justin Herbert after saying Chargers QB 'was throwing deli meat' during Week 8 game

Quentin Lake says he sent an apology text to Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert for comments he made on the St. Brown brothers podcast this week.

The Los Angeles Rams safety was discussing his team's 24-9 win over the Chargers last week — a game in which Herbert threw a pair of interceptions — when he said Herbert " was throwing deli meat out there " and "seeing ghosts."

"I don't know if he read it," Lake told the LA Times . "He probably says, 'I don't care about it anymore. I'm not trying to see this. It doesn't matter. You said what you said.' But at the same time I … felt like it was right for me to at least say, 'Hey, man, I didn't mean it in any disrespectful way.'"

When he spoke to the Times on Friday afternoon, Lake, who recorded one of those two Herbert interceptions, had not received a response.

The podcast, hosted by Detroit Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and his brother, former NFL receiver Equanimeous St. Brown , sent out a video clip with Lake's response and it went viral. Once the quote started going around, Lake was suddenly remorseful about what he said and explained that he was comfortable speaking with a former high school teammate in Amon-Ra St. Brown.

"You know, I was with my boys," said Lake. "I was in a comfortable environment. I was trying to say stuff funny. But looking back on it, they have a big platform. And when you say stuff like that, people are going to take it in ways that you may not mean it. ... In no way shape or form was it supposed to be disrespectful."

It's been a horrendous start for the Chargers this season, and Herbert's struggles aren't helping. The team is 0-7 and Herbert has only 5 touchdowns and 10 interceptions through 7 games. He also has been sacked 23 times and has recorded a 61.8 completion percentage and is averaging 199.7 passing yards per game, the lowest of his seven-year NFL career.

Lake said Herbert is still a "great" quarterback and that he sees the talent on the Chargers' roster.

"Obviously there's some things going on over there that they probably want to fix and probably want to polish up," Lake said. "You look at their roster from top to bottom, [they're] still very, very talented, him included."