JULY 17: As expected, Harris will indeed open camp on the active/NFI list. The Chargers officially moved him to the list on Thursday. Further clarity on his recovery timeline will likely come about once the team’s staff evaluates the extent of the injury.
JULY 16: Najee Harris‘ injury sustained in a fireworks accident will delay his start to Chargers training camp. Although the free agency addition is expected to begin the season on time, his work with his new team is on hold.
The Chargers are expected to place Harris on their NFI list, GM Joe Hortiz said (via The Athletic’s Daniel Popper). Harris will land on Los Angeles’ active/NFI list, a training camp-only designation. The Chargers do not need to decide on a reserve/NFI list placement — which requires a four-game absence — for more than a month.
The former Steelers 1,000-yard back has never missed a game as a pro, and early expectations point to that durability persisting into Year 5. Harris suffered an eye injury earlier this month and has been receiving treatment at Stanford, Popper adds. He will soon begin working with Chargers doctors at the team facility. That said, Hortiz added (via ESPN.com’s Kris Rhim) neither he nor the team’s medical staff have seen the extent of Harris’ injury.
“Surface-level injury,” Hortiz said, via Rhim. “Obviously around the eye, so I’m sure there’s bruising and all that. We haven’t seen him, so we’ll get more clarity when he gets in here and our doctors see him.”
An NFI stay to open camp would cover this issue, as Harris was injured in a non-football activity. The active/PUP list covers football-related health issues heading into camp; Harris has not seen any of those keep him off the field as a pro. Harris was 68-for-68 in regular-season attendance in Pittsburgh, playing in all the Steelers’ playoff games during this period as well. He delivered four straight 1,000-yard rushing seasons, splitting time with Jaylen Warren for much of his tenure.
Even as Harris proved reliable in Pittsburgh, the former first-rounder never posted a 1,200-yard rushing season and did not command a big market. The Chargers added him on a one-year deal that included $5.25MM in base value. They then used a first-round pick on North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton, the consensus second-best back in the draft. Harris’ placement on the active/NFI list will give Hampton more time to work with the Chargers’ first-stringers. Veterans reported to Bolts camp Wednesday.