Chargers' J.K. Dobbins decision eventually looks right after Broncos injury news

When it comes to the topic of the Los Angeles Chargers making the tough call to let J.K. Dobbins get away in free agency last offseason, things weren’t looking so good there for a bit. 

Dobbins, after all, went and joined the Denver Broncos in the AFC West and has been effective for the 8-2 club. Through 10 games, he’s sitting on 772 yards and four scores on a 5.0 per-carry average. 

While that unfolded, the Chargers were busy losing Najee Harris for the season due to an injury. That, after the weird offseason fireworks-injury incident after the team chose him over Dobbins strictly for his reliability, having never missed a game in Pittsburgh. 

And while the Chargers used a first-round pick on Omarion Hampton and he started to become more effective by the game, the rookie is also on injured reserve with an unknown return timeline after the latest worse-than-expected update. 

Broncos injury update says much about Chargers, too

Unfortunately for Dobbins, injury news out of Denver the day after the Broncos’ 10-7 win over Las Vegas during a Thursday night primetime showdown reshapes this entire conversation. 

Dobbins will miss perhaps notable time after what appeared to be a hip-drop tackle.

Unlucky and unfortunate, but it speaks to why the Chargers did what they did with Dobbins last offseason. Even while he blazed an amazing comeback story last year while being a finalist for Comeback Player of the Year, Dobbins missed four games. 

It didn’t help Dobbins' chances for a return with the Chargers that running mate new arrival Gus Edwards was only healthy enough for 11 games of work last year, too. 

Hence, the Chargers playing hardball with a rare free-agent tag on Dobbins before effectively shrugging off his going to a direct rival. With Hampton, they’ve got a long-term solution, with the full-time rotational presence still a job up for grabs.