Injuries depressed J.K. Dobbins‘ value as a first-time free agent this offseason, leading to a deal barely north of the veteran minimum. But the Chargers have still used the former Ravens second-round pick as their clear-cut lead back this season.
Another setback will pause Dobbins’ comeback year. The fifth-year back left Monday’s Ravens matchup with a knee injury, and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport indicates it is a sprain that will cost the current Bolts RB1 some time. Dobbins will miss this week’s Falcons matchup and is not certain to return the following week. It is an MCL sprain, ESPN’s Adam Schefter clarifies.
A setback for the Chargers, no doubt, though this is not exactly a blindsiding scenario. Dobbins missed 43 games over the course of his rookie contract with the Ravens, many of those absences coming about because of an ACL tear sustained just before the 2021 season.
Dobbins missed all of the ’21 campaign and then saw his return hit speedbumps in 2022, when nine more absences came about due to knee trouble. The Achilles tear Dobbins suffered in Week 1 of last season tanked his market, leading to a one-year deal worth $1.61MM while several other running backs — including two-time teammate Gus Edwards — landed better contracts during a busy offseason at the position.
Dobbins, however, outplayed Edwards to earn the lead Los Angeles role this season. He sits at 4.8 yards per carry (766 in total) with eight rushing touchdowns, including a go-ahead score to propel the Bolts past the Bengals in Week 11. Through 11 Chargers games, Dobbins has already set a single-season high for carries (as a pro) with 158. The former second-round pick’s previous most came as a rookie in 2020, when he handled 134 totes.
It will now be Edwards thrust into a role he was signed to play. Also missing the full 2021 season due to a knee injury, Edwards then missed a chunk of Baltimore’s 2022 season. Unlike Dobbins, however, Edwards was able to stay on the field following his rehab effort. He fetched a two-year, $6.5MM deal on Day 1 of the legal tampering period — one of the most eventful days in RB history — doing so after an 810-yard, 13-touchdown 2023 season with Baltimore.
The Bolts have not seen too much from Edwards, however; he enters Week 13 with just 206 rushing yards (3.3 per carry). Rookie sixth-rounder Kimani Vidal stands to return to the backup role he played during the stretch Edwards missed because of an ankle injury. The Chargers have become increasingly pass-happy in recent weeks, relying on Justin Herbert‘s star-level skillset after initially focusing on the ground game early in Jim Harbaugh‘s tenure.
Dobbins’ injury may increase that aerial reliance over the coming weeks, and although Dobbins’ injury may not be season-ending, his extensive past with ailments may alter the Bolts’ run-game plans for the season’s remainder. Were Dobbins to land on IR, he would miss games against the Chiefs (Week 14) and Broncos (Week 16).