Los Angeles Chargers running back Najee Harris has exited the team’s Week 3 home matchup against the Denver Broncos with a non-contact leg injury and has been ruled as questionable to return. The veteran went down while faking a handoff during a play-action pass from quarterback Justin Herbert and had to be helped off the field to the sideline. He was eventually carted to the locker room with immediate speculation that he suffered an Achilles injury.
Harris signed with the Chargers in the offseason after a four-year stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers where he eclipsed 1,000 yards rushing all four years and didn’t miss a single game for the franchise. However, he suffered an eye injury due to a Fourth of July fireworks accident over the summer and missed a bulk of the team’s training camp while recovering. This opened the door for first-round rookie running back Omarion Hampton to get plenty of first-team reps, leading to questions over who would be the Chargers’ starting running back heading into the season.
It became immediately clear that Hampton was RB1 as Harris received just one carry in the team’s 27-21 season-opening victory over the Chiefs in Brazil. The veteran scrounged up just nine carries for 33 yards through the first two weeks of the campaign, but had six carries for 28 yards in the first half of Sunday’s game against the Broncos prior to the injury.
Hassan Haskins will presumably assume the role of RB2 for L.A. in his absence.
Note: This is a developing story that will be updated as more information becomes available regarding Harris’ status.
