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J.K. Dobbins

Broncos, RB J.K. Dobbins Were In Contact Since March

June 15th, 2025 at 10:20am CST by Rory Parks

The Broncos recently signed running back J.K. Dobbins to a one-year contract worth $2.75MM, with an additional $2.5MM incentive package. Although the two sides just came to terms several days ago, there was mutual interest since free agency opened in March.

Per Luca Evans of the Denver Post, the Broncos made contact with Dobbins’ camp at the outset of free agency and stayed in touch over the next several months. Similarly, Dobbins – who played against defensive coordinator Vance Joseph’s unit as a member of the Chargers last year and who lauded his new club’s O-line and quarterback Bo Nix – said joining Denver was a “no-brainer.” 

Though he is only 26, Dobbins is now far and away the most seasoned player in Denver’s RB room, which also features second-round rookie R.J. Harvey, 2024 fifth-rounder Audric Estime, and 2023 UDFA Jaleel McLaughlin. The overall underperformance of the club’s running backs in 2024, along with the free agency departure of Javonte Williams, led many to believe the Broncos would target the position on Day 1 of April’s draft.

UNC back Omarion Hampton was frequently mocked to Denver and its No. 20 overall pick. Instead, the Broncos chose a defensive player in Texas corner Jahdae Barron, and while they reportedly would have targeted Ohio State RB TreVeyon Henderson in a trade-down maneuver from the No. 20 spot, they clearly did not receive an offer tempting enough to relinquish the opportunity to select Barron.

In theory, the club could have moved up from its No. 51 slot to nab Henderson – who eventually went to the Patriots with the No. 38 pick – but Troy Renck of the Denver Post believes the Broncos eschewed that route largely because they knew they had Dobbins “in their back pocket.” Ultimately, Denver traded down twice from their No. 51 position to land Harvey at No. 60 overall.

Dobbins appears to have wanted to sign with Denver all along, and he was merely waiting for them (or, presumably, a different team with a clear RB opening) to hit his price point. Nick Chubb’s one-year, $2.5MM deal with the Texans helped crystallize Dobbins’ market, and he put pen to paper on his Broncos deal shortly after Chubb officially joined his new team. 

Dobbins admitted there was some urgency to the deal as a result of the Chargers’ decision to hit him with the UFA tender. If Dobbins had not signed a contract with a different club by July 22, the Bolts would have regained exclusive negotiating rights with him, and he theoretically could have been forced to play out the 2025 campaign on the $1.1MM tender (though Los Angeles did make him what was described as a “pretty decent” offer before he elected to join the Broncos). 

While the Chargers added Najee Harris in free agency and selected Hampton in the first round of the 2025 draft (just two picks after Barron came off the board), keeping Dobbins in the fold would not have broken the bank and would have given the team a deep and intriguing collection of RB talent. But from Dobbins’ perspective, Denver clearly presents a better opportunity.

Renck believes Dobbins will be ticketed for a starting role from the jump, as he says Harvey will “ideally” begin sharing early-down snaps with his new teammate by the middle of October. That said, Harvey was not a consensus second-round talent, so if Dobbins can stay healthy – which has been difficult for him since he suffered a torn ACL in a preseason game in 2021, his second year in the league – he could see the lion’s share of carries throughout the 2025 season.

Dobbins missed four games due to a MCL strain in 2024, his first and only season with the Chargers. Still, he tallied 905 yards and nine TDs on a strong 4.6 yards-per-carry average, and his 27 runs of 10+ yards was the 11th-highest total in the league. After playing in just one game the year prior, Dobbins finished second in Comeback Player of the Year voting in 2024 (behind Bengals QB Joe Burrow).

Bolts Offered J.K. Dobbins Deal To Return

June 11th, 2025 at 12:40pm CST by Sam Robinson

It took nearly three months in free agency for J.K. Dobbins to find a home, but he has since committed to relocate from Los Angeles. The Broncos have announced their signing, as the veteran running back is now on a one-year, $2.75MM contract.

Dobbins’ Denver visit last week came as he was technically still tied to the Chargers, who slapped the rarely used UFA tender on their primary 2024 starting running back. That now only pertains to a potential 2026 compensatory pick, as both the teams that used the UFA tender this year (along with the Browns’ Elijah Moore move) have seen the players move on. But Dobbins did loom larger on the Bolts’ radar screen earlier this offseason.

Before the Chargers’ Najee Harris signing, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer indicates the team had extended an offer to Dobbins to stay. Dobbins had outplayed the $1.61MM deal he signed, leapfrogging ex-Ravens teammate Gus Edwards — who was attached to a slightly higher-priced contract (two years, $6.5MM) — to start for an eventual playoff team. He came up as a player the Chargers had designs on keeping, but an extensive medical sheet continued to give teams pause in free agency.

Dobbins rushed for a career-high 905 yards last season, doing so despite missing more time due to injury. Dobbins’ IR stint, due to an MCL sprain, only covered the four-game minimum. This certainly helped him secure a raise from the Broncos, even if significant injury concerns remain due to the former second-rounder’s Baltimore stay.

While Dobbins narrowly edged Nick Chubb‘s $2.5MM Texans contract, it is worth wondering if the 26-year-old RB would have made more had he simply agreed to stay in L.A. The Bolts made a “pretty decent” proposal to re-sign Dobbins, per Breer. Considering they gave Harris $5.25MM in base value, it can reasonably be expected Dobbins passed on an offer worth more than what he will make in Denver. Though, it is not known if his $2.5MM incentive package features reasonable goals.

The Chargers included $4.25MM worth of incentives in Harris’ deal, and Dobbins’ injury past (47 missed games) pointed to the Bolts proposing an incentive-laden contract to him as well. The Chargers also carried considerable familiarity with Dobbins, due to GM Joe Hortiz having been hired from the Ravens (and Jim Harbaugh being rather close to the Baltimore HC). But they soon made a substantial commitment to heading in a different direction by drafting Omarion Hampton in Round 1.

Regularly mocked to the Broncos at No. 20, Hampton instead slipped down two spots and becomes the Bolts’ long-term option. He and Harris represent safer bets compared to what the Broncos have assembled, investment-wise at least, as the 2021 first-rounder has missed zero games in Pittsburgh while Hampton checked in as the clear second-best RB prospect in this year’s class. The Chargers have not been shy about first-round RB investments this century, having chosen three (LaDainian Tomlinson, Ryan Mathews, Melvin Gordon), and a team that has become more run-centric will turn to Hampton alongside Harris this season.

Denver will bet on Dobbins helping keep second-round pick R.J. Harvey — a player not viewed as a consensus second-round talent — fresh, as Sean Payton has enjoyed success with this type of committee in New Orleans. But the Broncos will need to factor Dobbins’ knee trouble into their roster calculous this summer.

Broncos To Sign RB J.K. Dobbins

June 10th, 2025 at 10:05pm CST by Sam Robinson

10:05pm: Chubb’s terms do resemble Dobbins’, as Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz reports the sixth-year back will join the Broncos for $2.75MM in base value. The contract can max out at $5.25MM through incentives. The incentives will be tied to yards from scrimmage, Florio adds. Rushing yards also factor into the incentive package, per 9News’ Mike Klis.

2:37pm: J.K. Dobbins left his Denver visit without a contract, but the sides circled back to such business. The 2024 Chargers starter is indeed committing to the Broncos, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reports.

Dobbins agreed on a one-year deal to join the team, which will be his third in three seasons. This will be a notable change for Denver, which used a second-round pick on R.J. Harvey in the draft. Dobbins’ signing comes a day after the Texans gave Nick Chubb a $2.5MM deal; it will be interesting to see if Dobbins’ Broncos terms are similar.

The Chargers had placed a UFA tender on Dobbins in May, but like Elijah Moore, such a move will not lead to a return. The Bolts had made other plans this offseason, signing Najee Harris and using a first-round pick on Omarion Hampton.

Tuesday’s signing could mark a significant change for the team, which lost primary 2024 starter Javonte Williams in free agency. That said, Denver still employs rookie-contract holdovers in Jaleel McLaughlin and Audric Estime. The latter’s path to a notable role may well become blocked by Dobbins, who delivered a bounce-back season in Los Angeles following an injury-plagued Baltimore stay. Dobbins would stand to pair with Harvey, offering a seasoned early-downs option to go with the team’s No. 60 overall choice.

Sean Payton, who confirmed Tuesday (via the Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson) the team was close to signing Dobbins, had said the Broncos viewed Harvey as a three-down back. It would not seem the team has changed its stance so soon on the Central Florida product, as shoulder pads do not come on until early in training camp, but it does appear the Broncos may not be ready to give the prospect a three-down role from the start. Dobbins represents high-end insurance, and a committee would seem likely based on this agreement.

Denver used a committee approach last season, primarily giving time to Williams and McLaughlin. The latter is a third-year UDFA who has operated as a change-of-pace option and pass-game weapon. Dobbins’ signing would not stand to affect McLaughlin’s aerial role, but Harvey’s arrival certainly could. One season remains on McLaughlin’s rookie contract; three are left on Estime’s. The Broncos used a fifth-round pick to bring in Estime out of Notre Dame, but an early-season injury and fumbling issues plagued his rookie year. Not much of an outlet option for Bo Nix, Estime looks to have seen his stock fall during the Broncos’ offseason program.

Dobbins, 26, finished second in Comeback Player of the Year voting — behind Joe Burrow — last season. Given a one-year, $1.61MM deal that included just $50K guaranteed, the former Ravens second-rounder overtook the higher-paid Gus Edwards to become the Bolts’ starter. Dobbins averaged 4.6 yards per carry, accumulating 905 to help the Chargers to the playoffs. Jim Harbaugh used a more run-focused offense last season, and Dobbins also managed to shake off another injury — a midseason MCL sprain — to return and help a late-season charge to the wild-card round.

Next Gen Stats’ rush yards over expected metric placed Dobbins 12th last season (115); Williams (minus-83) landed near the bottom of that chart. Williams has not been the same since a 2022 injury, ACL and LCL tears, but the Broncos will now turn to a player with a more significant medical sheet. Dobbins has missed 46 games since suffering a late-summer ACL tear in 2021. That injury cost him nine games in 2022, which required an IR stint after he had returned, and an Achilles tear cost the Ohio State product 16 games in 2023.

Payton regularly relied on backfield committees in New Orleans, as Pierre Thomas and Mark Ingram respectively gave way to flashier options in Reggie Bush, Darren Sproles and Alvin Kamara. Dobbins-Harvey appears the veteran HC’s next top duo, as the Broncos ranked 16th in rushing yards last season. Nix contributed 430 to the team’s cause; he will now have more help on the ground.

Injuries have crushed Dobbins’ NFL earning potential, but his Chargers reemergence will present an opportunity — via this Broncos commitment — at building up more value during his mid-20s.

RB J.K. Dobbins To Visit Broncos

June 4th, 2025 at 9:58pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Former Chargers and Ravens running back J.K. Dobbins is meeting with the Broncos this week, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. He will have dinner with Denver’s coaching staff tonight with a visit to the team’s facility scheduled for Thursday.

Dobbins finished second in Comeback Player of the Year voting as a Charger in 2024, his return to the field after injuries derailed the start of his career in Baltimore. The 2020 second-round pick averaged 6.0 yards per carry as a rookie but only played nine games over the next three seasons due to an ACL tear in 2021 and an Achilles tear in 2023. He then signed with Chargers last offseason to reunite with Greg Roman (and a slew of other former Ravens) in Los Angeles.

Last year, Dobbins ranked 10th in yards per game (69.6) and 13th in yards per carry (4.6) among qualified running backs, though his 42.6% success rate was the third-lowest in that same group. Crucially, he finished the season healthy; he landed on injured reserve with an MCL sprain but recovered within the four-week minimum and started the team’s last three games (including the playoffs).

The Chargers declined to re-sign Dobbins after the season but placed the little-used UFA tender on him when he remained unsigned after the draft. This week’s visit to Denver is the first reported interest in Dobbins this offseason and could lead to a bigger payday than the $1.1MM he stands to earn in Los Angeles.

The 26-year-old Dobbins would bring a veteran presence to a Broncos running back room that lacks proven NFL experience after the departure of Javonte Williams this offseason. Denver drafted R.J. Harvey in the second round to help fill the void, but his undersized frame and lack of pass-blocking chops will likely keep him from being a three-down bellcow. The team’s other ballcarriers – Audric Estime, Jaleel McLaughlin, Blake Watson, and Tyler Badie – have just 281 career carries between them. Dobbins has 429, including 195 in 2024 alone.

If the Broncos sign Dobbins, it may be an indication that head coach Sean Payton will be taking a committee approach to his backfield this season. Harvey’s status as a second-rounder should lead to plenty of touches, and McLaughlin — a 2023 UDFA — has carved out a rotational role over the last two years. Payton also promised more action for Estime, who saw double-digit carries just twice as a rookie.

“He’s a back that requires enough touches,” said Payton of Estime during OTAs (via NFL.com’s Grant Gordon). “He’s going to get those opportunities.”

The Broncos would also have to find a way to fit Dobbins into the picture, a topic that will likely be discussed during his visit.

Chargers Place UFA Tender On J.K. Dobbins

April 29th, 2025 at 4:47pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Chargers’ offseason blueprint included two significant running back investments. The team added Najee Harris on Day 1 of free agency and then used its first-round pick on Omarion Hampton. This represents a more committed effort compared to last year, when two ex-Ravens RBs reunited with OC Greg Roman.

J.K. Dobbins rebounded from an injury-marred Baltimore stay to become the Bolts’ primary starter last season, but he has not signed anywhere as a free agent. With Monday being the deadline for signings affecting the 2026 compensatory formula, the Chargers made a move that could net them a compensatory pick if Dobbins were to depart.

The Bolts joined the Browns in using a UFA tender, with Cards Wire’s Howard Balzer noting the AFC West team used one on Dobbins. If Dobbins is unsigned by July 22, the Chargers would retain exclusive negotiating rights on him. The Ohio State alum would be attached to a $1.1MM tender (110% of his 2024 salary). This comes as the Browns placed a UFA tender on wide receiver Elijah Moore.

Having suffered ACL and Achilles tears during his time in Baltimore, Dobbins reemerged last season by rushing for 905 rushing yards and nine touchdowns for a newly run-oriented Chargers team. An ankle injury sidelined Dobbins, but his IR stint only covered four games. He returned to help the team to the playoffs, but the Bolts cut Gus Edwards and have not re-signed Dobbins. They added Harris on a one-year deal (worth $5.25MM), with Hampton’s fully guaranteed first-round contract positioning him to be the club’s long-term starter.

This setup would leave little room for Dobbins, but the Chargers will be tied to him for a bit longer. If Dobbins signs elsewhere before July 22, he could factor into the Bolts’ compensatory formula for the 2026 draft. The team hired ex-Ravens exec Joe Hortiz as GM last year; no club prioritizes comp picks more than Baltimore. That undoubtedly factors into this tender decision. A team signing Dobbins, however, will likely do so at a low rate due to the former second-rounder’s 46 missed games over the past four seasons.

UFA tenders have led to separations in the recent past. The Chiefs and Ravens placed them on Melvin Ingram and Justin Houston, respectively, in 2022 and saw each sign elsewhere before the July 22 deadline. The Patriots slapped one on LeGarrette Blount in 2017 and saw him join the Eagles soon after. The Giants, however, used the tender on Markus Golden in 2020 and reunited with him — after he signed it that July. (The Giants traded Golden to the Cardinals that October.) There would seem to be no place for Dobbins on Los Angeles’ 2025 roster, but he remains loosely tied to the team during free agency.

Khalil Mack Chargers’ Top FA Priority?

January 16th, 2025 at 2:49pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Chargers are set to have 30 players hit unrestricted free agency, including several starters on both sides of the ball.

Their biggest pending free agent is Khalil Mack, who is mulling retirement after his 11th NFL season. Head coach Jim Harbaugh and general manager Joe Hortiz both recently expressed their desire to re-sign the All-Pro edge rusher, per ESPN’s Kris Rhim.

“I don’t know if it’s possible to get everybody back, but I wanna get as darn close as possible,” said Harbaugh, “and nobody more than Khalil Mack.”

However, the Chargers are unlikely to keep both Mack and Joey Bosa, who combined for just 11 sacks in the regular season. Los Angeles already has Tuli Tuipulotu and Bud Dupree on affordable contracts for the 2025 season, and Bosa’s cap hit is set to jump to $36.5MM. Cutting him would save $25.4MM, enough money to re-sign Mack and add talent elsewhere on the roster.

Mack agreed to restructure his contract with the Chargers to save cap space ahead of the 2024 season, but his void years will still result in a $8.9MM dead cap hit in 2025. Money will play a role in Mack’s decision, as will his desire to be on a contender.

Despite their first-round playoff exit, that label seems to still apply to the Chargers. They have their franchise quarterback in Justin Herbert and a championship culture-setter in Harbaugh, who led the team to a seven-win improvement in his debut season. His ability to form strong relationships with his players has led several to publicly state a desire to stay in Los Angeles.

Among them are running back J.K. Dobbins (via team editorial director Eric Smith), safety Elijah Molden (via Rhim), and defensive tackle Poona Ford (via Rhim). All three arrived in Los Angeles last offseason and quickly bought into Harbaugh’s culture.

Dobbins averaged just under 70 rushing yards per game with nine touchdowns on a one-year, $1.61MM deal with just $50k in fully guaranteed money. Crucially, after losing most of the last three years to injury, he appeared in 13 games – his most since his rookie year – and came back from a monthlong absence to play the Chargers’ last three games of the season. He’ll be looking for a pay increase after outperforming fellow former Raven Gus Edwards with a team-leading 905 rushing yards (4.6 per carry) and nine touchdowns.

Molden broke his leg in the Week 17, but recorded career-highs in starts (12), tackles (75), interceptions (three), and passes defended (seven) as a crucial part of Los Angeles’ defense. With his rookie contract expiring, Molden will be looking to catch the rising tide of safety contracts after Antoine Winfield Jr.‘s market-resetting deal last offseason.

Like Dobbins, Ford took a “prove it” deal with the Chargers and will be looking to cash in after outperforming his $1.8MM earnings. He anchored the L.A. run defense while adding three sacks, five passes defended, and the first interception of his career.

Another candidate to return to the Chargers is veteran safety Tony Jefferson, who came out of a retirement scouting gig with the Ravens to join several former coaches and teammates in Los Angeles. Jefferson revealed that he trained for just eight weeks before his tryout with the Chargers; now, he will have a full offseason to physically and mentally for the 2025 season, whether he re-signs with the Chargers or lands elsewhere.

The Chargers are currently projected to have $73.2MM in 2025 cap space, so they have plenty of money to re-sign their pending free agents. However, their need to upgrade at wide receiver will likely divert a large chunk of that money, especially if they pursue a player like Tee Higgins at the top of the market.

Chargers To Activate J.K. Dobbins

December 27th, 2024 at 2:54pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Chargers are planning to activate J.K. Dobbins from injured reserve to play in Saturday’s matchup with the Patriots, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport.

Dobbins landed on IR at the end of November with a sprained MCL that forced him to miss significant time for a fourth year in a row. Unlike his previous injuries, however, Dobbins recovered within his mandatory minimum of four weeks on IR, setting him up to resume lead back duties in Los Angeles.

Dobbins was averaging a career-high 69.6 rushing yards per game before he hurt his knee. If he returns to that pace over the next two games, he’ll finish 2024 with the most regular-season rushing yards in his career. The former Ravens second-round pick totaled 805 as a rookie; he is sitting on 766 entering Week 17.

The Bolts have certainly missed their starter over the past few weeks, and the team has run into more injury trouble at running back in that span. Already one of the team’s IR activations this season, Gus Edwards has been ruled out with an ankle injury. This makes Dobbins’ return all the more important for a Chargers team that could climb to the AFC’s No. 5 seed over the final two weeks of the season. Though, the Bolts have yet to clinch a playoff berth.

That will help the Chargers clinch a playoff spot while improving Dobbins’ free agency stock. He signed a one-year, $1.61MM in Los Angeles this offseason to prove that he could still be effective after tearing his Achilles last year. While his MCL sprain reignited concerns about his durability, Dobbins has remained a dangerous ballcarrier when healthy. No other Chargers running back has broken 70 yards in a single game during his absence.

The Chargers also used standard practice squad elevations on safeties Eddie Jackson and Kendall Williamson for this weekend’s game, per ESPN’s Kris Rhim.

Chargers Designate J.K. Dobbins For Return

December 23rd, 2024 at 2:12pm CST by Sam Robinson

After missing J.K. Dobbins for the past four games, the Chargers will give their starting running back an opportunity to provide a strong ending to his first season in Los Angeles.

The Bolts are designating Dobbins for return, The Athletic’s Daniel Popper tweets. An MCL sprain halted Dobbins’ bounce-back season, offering a reminder of his issues staying healthy in Baltimore. But the former second-round pick had provided good value for a Chargers team that signed him on a low-end contract following a lost 2023 season.

Dobbins amassed 766 rushing yards this season (4.8 per carry), scoring eight touchdowns in his return from a September 2023 Achilles tear. The former Ravens starter also missed all of the 2021 season and much of the 2022 campaign due to an ACL tear. The Bolts had been using their other Baltimore import, Gus Edwards, in Dobbins’ place. Edwards figures to still be involved, but a return to a complementary role appears likely soon.

Although the Chargers are down to just two injury activations, the offseason rule change giving playoff teams two more to use during the postseason keeps the team on steady ground here. Edwards had returned off IR previously, but he has not provided the Chargers the spark his longtime teammate has this season. The higher-paid back is averaging just 3.6 yards per tote. Dobbins’ injury past still figures to keep Edwards involved, however.

Dobbins’ run of injury trouble led to an April signing, as the Bolts gave the Ohio State product a one-year deal worth just $1.61MM. Dobbins, 26, can probably do better on the 2025 market — especially after would-be free agents James Conner, Chuba Hubbard and Rhamondre Stevenson all signed extensions. The current Chargers starter will need to stay healthy, however, and his injury past will undoubtedly still factor into his market. But a bump from that $1.61MM number appears likely.

As the fifth-year back prepares an effort to boost his market, he can help a Chargers team secure playoff positioning. The Bolts are 9-6 and could rise as high as the No. 5 seed depending on results over the season’s final two weeks.

AFC West Notes: Moss, Raiders, Chargers

December 5th, 2024 at 3:33pm CST by Sam Robinson

While the Broncos were able to contain Jerry Jeudy when they opted to use All-Pro Patrick Surtain on their former receiver, the first-year Browns contributor otherwise preyed on the team’s primary Riley Moss replacement during a dominant Monday-night showing. Free agency addition Levi Wallace struggled mightily, leading to a late-game benching and exposing an issue for a Broncos defense that had entered the game as one of the NFL’s best. The Broncos have seen Moss deliver quality play in his first season as a starter, but an MCL sprain sidelined him for Week 13. It is not certain Moss will be ready to return after Denver’s bye week.

The 2023 third-round pick is slated to need “a couple” weeks to return, with ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler pointing to a re-emergence against the Colts next week being in play but perhaps not a certainty. A two-week absence from an MCL sprain would be on the short end as far as recoveries go. A long-term lens reveals the Broncos nabbing an important contributor in Moss, given the looks the team’s non-Surtain corners see, but a woeful coverage effort Monday exposes a short-term issue for the wild-card contender. Denver used fifth-round rookie Kris Abrams-Draine, making his season debut, late in the game, playing him ahead of third-year cog Damarri Mathis.

Here is the latest from the AFC West:

  • When Antonio Pierce fired OC Luke Getsy, the Raiders installed Scott Turner as the interim play-caller. They also brought veteran Norv Turner out of retirement, with Scott indicating (via ESPN.com’s Paul Gutierrez) he spearheaded that effort. Norv, a three-time HC and Super Bowl-winning OC, had been out of the NFL since 2020. The 72-year-old coach is currently staying with his son in Las Vegas, as the Raiders attempt to find solutions on offense amid a rough season.
  • Norv Turner makes three former HCs on Pierce’s Vegas staff, joining Joe Philbin and Marvin Lewis. The Raiders also kept DC Patrick Graham around from Josh McDaniels‘ brief HC run while adding Getsy — the team’s second choice for OC after Kliff Kingsbury backed out during negotiations — as the top voice on offense. Getsy’s quick firing and how Pierce pieced his first staff together has drawn some internal pessimism, SI.com’s Albert Breer notes. Not having much NFL coaching experience nor possessing any college HC seasoning made Pierce a historic outlier in terms of NFL HCs, and it limited his coaching tree’s reach. Pierce leaned on his former Giants HC, Tom Coughlin, for guidance in assembling his first staff. Thus far, the Raiders are 2-10, having lost eight straight. Regardless of players’ push to have Pierce move to HC, Mark Davis is likely considering making the former interim boss a one-and-done as the full-time leader.
  • Ladd McConkey is battling two sprains presently. The blossoming Chargers rookie has been playing through an AC joint sprain, with Fowler adding he picked up a knee sprain against the Falcons. Jim Harbaugh was vague about the second-round wideout’s status for Sunday’s Chiefs rematch, but McConkey did log a limited practice Wednesday. McConkey, whom the team traded up for in April, has 401 more receiving yards (815) than the next-closest Charger.
  • J.K. Dobbins will not be part of the Chargers-Chiefs rematch, being placed on IR due to a sprained knee. Prior to going down, however, the resurgent running back picked up a $150K bonus by clearing 600 rushing yards for the season, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. The injury-prone RB signed a one-year, $1.61MM deal this offseason. The team has Gus Edwards, tied to a more lucrative deal, and sixth-round rookie Kimani Vidal as its top backs on the 53-man roster.

Chargers Place RB J.K. Dobbins, S Alohi Gilman On IR

November 30th, 2024 at 5:30pm CST by Ely Allen

The Chargers continue to deal with injuries in the running game, placing a running back on injured reserve for the second time this year. A couple weeks after the return of Gus Edwards from IR, J.K. Dobbins has been placed on the injured list. Joining Dobbins in an absence of at least four weeks is safety Alohi Gilman.

It’s frustrating news for Dobbins, who will fail to play a healthy, full season for the first time since his rookie year. Dobbins missed a game with a COVID-19 designation in his rookie season and, since then, has missed the entire 2021 season, nine games the following year, and 16 games last year. Through 12 weeks this season, it finally looked like Dobbins was going to put together a full season. Instead, the 25-year-old will miss the next four games, at least, with a sprained MCL. He’ll hope to come back for a potential playoff run at the end of the season.

Gilman is dealing with a hamstring injury that will cause him to miss his first game of the season since Week 2. Gilman’s in the first year of a new contract, after securing an extension by grading out as the seventh-best safety in the league last year, according to Pro Football Focus. Gilman has slumped in 2024, ranking 80th out of 89 graded safeties, per PFF. He’ll hope to make a return late in the season to try and turn things around.

The Chargers will fill one of the two vacated roster spots by signing veteran safety Tony Jefferson to the 53-man roster from the practice squad. The 32-year-old has extensive starting experience and has appeared in three games this year for Los Angeles. He’ll likely be included in the plan to replace Gilman over the next several weeks.

The team also named cornerback Dicaprio Bootle and linebacker Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste as standard gameday practice squad elevations for this weekend.

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