Former Alabama star RB Najee Harris was injured in a fireworks-related incident on the 4th of July, suffering what was called "superficial" injuries to his eye. While many reports seemed to indicate Harris would be fine, the latest update on Wednesday was concerning.
According to a report from The Athletic's Chargers reporter Daniel Popper, Harris is expected to start Training Camp on the team's Non-Football Injury list (NFI). He's also been receiving medical treatment at Stanford, which makes the injury sound worse than initially reported:
#Chargers GM Joe Hortiz said Najee Harris (eye) will likely begin training camp on NFI. Harris is expected to report to The Bolt later today, per Hortiz. Harris has been receiving treatment from doctors at Stanford.
— Daniel Popper (@danielrpopper) July 16, 2025
After a productive four years with the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he eclipsed 1000 yards rushing in all four seasons, Harris signed a one-year free agency deal with the Los Angeles Chargers this offseason. The market for the former Tide All-American and Doak Walker winner wasn't as robust as he would have liked, and he hoped he could parlay a strong season with the Chargers into a longer-term deal with LA or someone else.
Harris could find himself replaced at the top of the Chargers depth chart
Ian Rapoport followed up on Popper's report and stated that Harris is not expected to be on the NFI list for long. But even missing a small amount of time in Training Camp could be detrimental to Harris' spot at the top of the Chargers depth chart.
He could find himself "Wally Pipped" - and if you don't know what that means, you should probably be at summer camp instead of reading this anyway.
Wally Pipp was a baseball player who got injured, was famously replaced by a guy named Lou Gehrig, and was promptly never heard from again. His name became synonymous with players who get injured and are supplanted on the depth chart across all sports.
Just a month after signing Harris, the Chargers used their first-round pick - No. 22 overall - to select North Carolina RB Omarion Hampton. Hampton is coming off a monster season at North Carolina, where he rushed for 1660 yards and 15 touchdowns. Some scouts had him higher on their draft boards than Boise State's Ashton Jeanty.
Hampton was always going to provide immediate competition for carries with Harris, but now he'll get the added bonus of extra reps in Training Camp while Harris is sidelined.
Hopefully Harris is able to get back quickly - and recover fully - or his time as the featured back with the Chargers could be over before it ever started.