They say nothing good happens after midnight. And yeah, maybe early-morning fireworks fall under that too. Right when Jim Harbaugh was starting to shape the Chargers in his own old-school, hard-nosed image, a Fourth of July incident took the spotlight. What was supposed to be a positive training camp is now filled with more questions than answers.
And sure, the word “superficial” keeps getting tossed around like it’s no big deal, but the Chargers fans? They’re side-eyeing that word hard. Because if Najee Harris is not ready to go when the camp kicks off next week? The Chargers’ new era might already be limping off the field.
You probably wouldn’t believe it, but even veteran journalists like Mike Florio had a hard time getting to the bottom of this injury. So much ambiguity, so much up in the air. It made him put his son on social media duty to look for any signs that would give him a better idea of what exactly is going on with Najee. And initially, Florio disregarded the entire saga and came to the conclusion that Najee is ‘not injured.’
But when Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News reported that Najee is, in fact, injured (no more details), Florio made it his life’s mission to figure this all out. After a number of calls with sources/agents, he finally revealed that Najee is out with what he called a ‘superficial’ eye injury. Make of that what you will.
“Any injury on the eyeball would not seem to me as superficial, but we’ll find out,” he added. And what makes all this even more ambiguous? The Chargers haven’t confirmed much either. Just that Najee will go through his standard physical when camp opens. Which kinda sounds like, “We’re not totally sure what’s going on yet either.” Not exactly the confidence boost Jim Harbaugh and the fans were hoping for.
On paper? It doesn’t sound like too big of a deal. But come on, how ‘minor’ can an eye injury really be? Especially for a running back for whom vision and timing are pretty much everything. Even something like a little light sensitivity could mess with his rhythm in camp. And with Najee trying to learn a whole new system, impress a new coach, and fight for a big role this season? Yeah, missing those reps could be fatal. And as Florio later quipped, it’s about time “we’ll find out what superficial means”, especially when a team’s season could hinge on it.
What does this mean for Najee and the Chargers?
Let’s imagine: What if “superficial” is just wishful thinking? What if Najee’s not ready to go when camp kicks off next week? What if this whole fireworks mess turns into something that lingers into August… or even the regular season? That is precisely when it stops being a funny headline and becomes a real problem.
That scenario isn’t just bad optics (pun absolutely intended), it could be a genuine setback for what Jim Harbaugh’s trying to build in L.A. Najee wasn’t brought in just to look good in powder blue. He’s supposed to be the guy in a run-first offence built for big, physical backs. It’s almost tailor-made for him.
There’s also a bigger picture here. What does it mean for Najee’s career trajectory? The guy opened his NFL run with three straight 1,000-yard seasons in Pittsburgh. What did the Steelers do? They let him walk in free agency. Pretty humbling for a first-rounder. The Chargers were probably his last shot. Last shot to be a true RB1. But if this eye thing lingers, or keeps him off the field too long? You know what happens.
And for the Chargers? The depth chart doesn’t really induce a lot of confidence. Isaiah Spiller’s still hanging around, but with a career average of just 2.5 yards per carry. He hasn’t shown much to be excited about. And while Kimani Vidal has upside, he’s a sixth-rounder from Georgia who’s still raw and finding his footing. So if Najee can’t go? That “run-first” identity starts looking a lot more like “hope-someone-steps-up,” and that’s not how Harbaugh likes it.
The post Jim Harbaugh Faces Early Setback as Najee Harris’ ‘Superficial’ Eye Injury Raises Chargers’ Camp Uncertainty appeared first on EssentiallySports.