Accidents depressed J.K. Dobbins‘ worth as a first-time free agent this offseason, resulting in a deal barely north of the veteran minimal. However the Chargers have nonetheless used the previous Ravens second-round decide as their clear-cut lead again this season.
One other setback will pause Dobbins’ comeback yr. The fifth-year again left Monday’s Ravens matchup with a knee harm, and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport indicates it’s a sprain that may price the present Bolts RB1 a while. Dobbins will miss this week’s Falcons matchup and isn’t sure to return the next week.
A setback for the Chargers, little question, although this isn’t precisely a blindsiding situation. Dobbins missed 43 video games over the course of his rookie contract with the Ravens, lots of these absences as a consequence of an ACL tear sustained simply earlier than the 2021 season.
Dobbins missed all the ’21 marketing campaign after which noticed his return hit speedbumps in 2022, when 9 extra absences happened as a consequence of knee bother. The Achilles tear Dobbins suffered in Week 1 of final season tanked his market, resulting in a one-year deal worth $1.61M whereas a number of different working backs — together with two-time teammate Gus Edwards — landed higher contracts throughout a busy offseason on the place.
Dobbins, nonetheless, outplayed Edwards to earn the lead function in Los Angeles this season. He sits at 4.8 yards per carry (766 yards whole) with eight dashing touchdowns, together with a go-ahead rating to propel the Bolts previous the Bengals in Week 11. By 11 Chargers video games, Dobbins has already set a single-season excessive for carries with 158. The previous second-round decide’s earlier most got here as a rookie in 2020, when he dealt with 134 totes.
It would now be Edwards thrust into the lead function. Additionally lacking the total 2021 season as a consequence of a knee harm, Edwards then missed a piece of Baltimore’s 2022 season. In contrast to Dobbins, nonetheless, Edwards was capable of keep on the sector following his rehab effort. He fetched a two-year, $6.5M deal on Day 1 of the legal tampering period — one of the eventful days in RB historical past — after an 810-yard, 13-touchdown 2023 season with Baltimore.
The Bolts haven’t seen an excessive amount of from Edwards, nonetheless. He enters Week 13 with simply 206 dashing yards (3.3 per carry). Rookie sixth-rounder Kimani Vidal stands to return to the backup function he performed in the course of the stretch Edwards missed due to an ankle harm. The Chargers have turn out to be more and more pass-happy in current weeks, counting on Justin Herbert‘s star-level skillset after initially specializing in the bottom recreation early in Jim Harbaugh‘s tenure.
Dobbins’ harm might improve that aerial reliance over the approaching weeks, and though. Have been Dobbins to land on IR, he would miss video games in opposition to the Chiefs (Week 14) and Broncos (Week 16).
