Najee Harris
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Chargers' running back Najee Harris appears to be making great progress in his recovery from a torn Achilles tendon
The Los Angeles Chargers‘ offense was one of the better units in the NFL last season, but after they put up just three points in their wild-card loss to the New England Patriots in the playoffs, some big changes have been made. Most importantly, Greg Roman is no longer the team’s offensive coordinator, with Mike McDaniel being hired to replace him.
For the most part, though, the construction of the offense looks fairly similar. Of course, the Chargers are also accounting for the return of running back Najee Harris, whose 2025 campaign came to a premature end after he suffered a torn Achilles tendon in Week 3. Ever since then, Harris has been working his way back to full health, and it looks like he’s making some good progress in his injury rehab.
Najee Harris Making Progress in Injury Rehab
Doug Hendrickson
Najee Harris looking great at almost 6 months post op-
Harris was selected in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers, and he immediately earned a Pro Bowl selection as a rookie after he racked up 1,200 yards and seven touchdowns on 300 carries, while also catching 74 passes for 467 yards and three more scores. With the emergence of Jaylen Warren, though, Harris’ production dipped in each of the next three years.
Even though he managed to rush for at least 1,000 yards for four straight seasons to begin his career, the Steelers let Harris walk in free agency last offseason. He signed with the Chargers in free agency, with the hope being that he’d form an effective duo with first-round rookie Omarion Hampton. Instead, Harris picked up just 61 yards on 15 carries before his season came to a premature end.
Los Angeles still believes that Harris can be an effective part of its offense, but first, he needs to get fully healthy. In recent weeks, Harris has taken some big steps towards ensuring he’ll be ready to go for the start of the 2026 campaign, with the latest clip of his injury rehab progress showing him sprinting at full speed on a treadmill less than six full months after undergoing surgery.
Chargers Hoping Najee Harris Can Make an Impact in 2026
Najee Harris
GettyNajee Harris of the Los Angeles Chargers.
Hampton dealt with his own injury woes in 2025, but when he was on the field, he proved he could be counted on as a lead running back (124 CAR, 545 YDS, 4 TD, 32 REC, 192 YDS, 1 TD). Los Angeles also signed former Baltimore Ravens running back Keaton Mitchell in free agency, and it still has Kimani Vidal at its disposal after he took on a bigger role than expected in the wake of Hampton and Harris’ injury woes.
All this goes to say that Harris does not need to rush his way back to full health. However, McDaniel liked to use a variety of running backs in different roles during his time as the Miami Dolphins head coach, so you can bet he will use his new running backs with the Chargers in a similar way. Harris still has a long way to go until he’s ready for live game action, but he’s clearly making progress, which is a great sign for L.A.