Najee Harris is not yet off the Chargers’ active/NFI list, a training camp-only designation that emerged after the running back sustained an unspecified eye injury in a fireworks accident July 4. But the free agency addition is ramping up his workload.
The former first-round pick’s recovery has progressed to side drills at Chargers practice, ESPN.com’s Kris Rhim reports. This comes after Harris was only walking laps with a helmet and a weighted vest leading up to Tuesday’s side-field work. A player who did not suffer a lower-body injury only being given the green light to walk laps at an NFL practice points to a long recovery road, and the Chargers are not confirming the four-year Steelers starter will be ready for Week 1.
Jim Harbaugh has been coy with injury statuses since he returned to the NFL, but teams do not have to issue injury reports until Week 1. The Chargers will have a choice to shift Harris to the reserve/NFI list when setting their 53-man roster August 26 or to go week-to-week, saving a roster spot for a player they have a one-year, $5.25MM deal.
Greg Roman said Harris not being ready for Week 1 — a scenario Harbaugh’s vague remarks have also tabbed as realistic — would feature first-rounder Omarion Hampton rotating with a to-be-determined back. Roman said (via Rhim) a Hampton 1-B back in a non-Harris scenario features a “wide open” competition.
The Bolts have Kimani Vidal held over from their Ravens-centric 2024 backfield, and they claimed Hassan Haskins off waivers from the Titans last August. Ex-Commanders UDFA Jaret Patterson is also rostered, and the team included South Carolina’s Raheim Sanders in its UDFA class. The team also signed Nyheim Miller-Hines, the former Colts and Bills option who has missed the past two seasons because of a severe injury sustained in a 2023 jet ski accident.
Harris’ agent has said the fifth-year veteran suffered a “superficial eye injury,” while GM Joe Hortiz called it a surface-level injury earlier this summer. An August 6 Instagram photo, however, showed Harris’ left eye shut. Harbaugh, however, confirmed the running back can open that eye. We will not have much clarity on this situation until the Chargers either remove Harris from their active/NFI list or shift him to the reserve/NFI list later this month. The latter scenario, as is the case with an IR or PUP stash, would require a four-game absence to open the season.