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J.K. Dobbins has had trouble staying on the field throughout his NFL career, but the running back expects that to change in his first season with the Los Angeles Chargers.
After barely playing at all for the Baltimore Ravens last year due to a torn Achilles, Dobbins signed a one-year deal with the Chargers this offseason. While some predict that he will be a complementary piece who can ideally rip off a few explosive plays, Dobbins has much higher expectations for himself.
On Thursday, Dobbins told reporters that he believes he will be one of the best running backs in the NFL this season if he gets the ball enough.
“I do think if I get the volume, I’ll be one of the best in the league,” Dobbins said, via ESPN’s Kris Rhim. “I’ve shown that. Y’all know how much yards I averaged per carry? I don’t know how many backs got that.”
Dobbins was referring to his career average of 5.8 yards per carry. That is the highest of any back with a minimum of 200 carries since Dobbins entered the league in 2020. The problem is the former Ohio State star has played in just 24 games over four NFL seasons.
In 2021, Dobbins tore his ACL, meniscus and hamstring in a preseason game. He missed the entire year. He needed arthroscopic surgery in 2022 and was limited to just eight games that season. Dobbins then tore his Achilles in Week 1 last year.
Despite all that, the 25-year-old Dobbins is optimistic he will stay healthy this season. It sounds like a different veteran back will enter the year as the Chargers’ starter, but it would not be a surprise if Dobbins contributes in a big way.
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Chargers star's brutal injury shows why players should hold out with new contracts on line
Los Angeles Chargers offensive tackle Rashawn Slater was carted off the practice field on Thursday afternoon with what turned out to be a significant injury. According to ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter, the two-time Pro Bowler suffered a season-ending knee injury. It's a massive blow to the team's offensive line and offense as a whole. It also serves as a harsh reminder as to why players will always — and should always — act on the side of caution when it comes to participating in training camp when they are seeking a new contract. In Slater's case, he's a lucky one because he just agreed to a new four-year, $114 million contract extension with $92 million in guarantees days before the injury happened. That contract was signed after he did not participate in some of the team's early training-camp practice sessions. If Slater had participated early on and had this injury happen before he was able to get his new deal signed, it would have been a devastating blow in his quest to get that pay day. Not only would the Chargers have had no incentive to pay him this season, but there is no guarantee he would have ever received that sort of contract in the future. Fans might not like the idea of a hold-out or hold-in, but you have to look at it from the perspective of the player. They have a very limited time to earn top dollar in the NFL, and there are never any guarantees. The hold-out/hold-in approach is not only a way to put pressure on the team to pay them, but it's also a matter of self-preservation. Football is a violent game. It's a physical game. It's a collision game. Injuries are always going to be a part of that. But injuries happen with much greater frequency early in the season, and especially in training camp, due to the fact that players are still working their way back into game shape and going through more intense and physical practices than they do at any point during the season. It's a dangerous time for them in terms of injuries, and that should not be overlooked when it comes to contract talks. Players have short careers and even less time to set themselves up financially. They should not be willing to take unnecessary risks when it comes to their earning power. The Slater situation shows just how delicate all of it is.
The Lakers could have another undrafted gem on their hands
In a summer dominated by LeBron James and Luka Doncic headlines, the Los Angeles Lakers may have quietly struck gold once again in the UDFA market, this time with former Villanova standout Eric Dixon. After initially agreeing to a two-way contract following the 2024–25 NBA Draft, Dixon’s path to the professional ranks was temporarily delayed due to injury, forcing him to miss Summer League. The Lakers, however, remained invested in the 24-year-old forward, eventually signing him to an Exhibit 10 deal, a move that keeps him in the pipeline and positions him as a potential breakout candidate through the G League. Dixon brings one of the most decorated resumes in college basketball. The 6-foot-8, 255-pound forward led all Division I scorers last season, averaging 23.3 points per game while shooting an impressive 40.7% from beyond the arc on 7.2 attempts per contest, a remarkable transformation for a player once seen as a traditional low-post presence. He concluded his five-year career at Villanova as the school’s all-time leading scorer, finishing with 2,314 points and etching his name into Big East history. While concerns around his age and lateral quickness may have contributed to him being passed over in the draft, Dixon’s refined skill set and ability to stretch the floor make him a strong fit in today’s NBA. He delivered in big moments throughout the season, including a 38-point outburst against Maryland on Nov. 11, and consistently carried the offensive load for the Wildcats. With his Exhibit 10 deal, Dixon is expected to begin the season with the South Bay Lakers, where he’ll aim to prove he’s healthy and ready to make an immediate impact. If he performs as expected, a return to a two-way contract, and possibly NBA minutes, could be on the horizon. The Lakers have developed a reputation for identifying and nurturing overlooked talent, with Austin Reaves and Alex Caruso emerging as prime examples. Dixon, with his offensive versatility and physical readiness, could be next in line. In a loaded Western Conference, unearthing low-cost contributors is more important than ever. Dixon might just be the next hidden gem to emerge from the Lakers’ development pipeline.
Kevin Love reportedly has preferred buyout destination
Kevin Love is eyeing a return to his roots. The five-time NBA All-Star big man Love has a preferred destination on the buyout market, Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints reported on Tuesday. Love would like to end up in Los Angeles. Now 36 years old, Love spent the last two-and-a-half seasons with the Miami Heat. He averaged just 5.3 points and 4.1 rebounds over 10.9 minutes per game in 2024-25 but still managed to shoot 35.8 percent from three on the year. Earlier this summer however, the Heat traded Love to the Utah Jazz as part of a three-team blockbuster deal. Now Love, a 17-year NBA veteran, is pursuing a contract buyout from the rebuilding Jazz. Though he is a native of Lake Oswego, Oregon, Love played his college ball in Los Angeles at UCLA. He also has ties to both L.A. teams — he won an NBA championship with Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James on the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 and was also coached on that team by Tyronn Lue, who is now head coach of the L.A. Clippers. Both the Lakers and Clippers are currently sitting at 14 guaranteed contracts each. While they still have spots for two-way and Exhibit 10 players, that means the Lakers and Clippers are both down to their final open roster spot. The ex-rebounding leader Love still has some value, though probably more so as a jokester than as a contributing rotation piece. While Love clearly wants a homecoming to Los Angeles, he may have some convincing to do for either the Lakers or the Clippers to give him that final open roster spot.
Maple Leafs Prospect Turns Heads at WJSS
You know, there's a saying that if an NHL team desires young, promising talent on their blueline, they should look no further than the country of Sweden to go looking for them. Perhaps it's the bitter cold Nordic wind that helps keep local lakes and ponds frozen, that's helped fuel some of hockey's best defencemen. From Borje Salming to Nicklas Lidstrom to Erik Karlsson, and now Rasmus Dahlin, Sweden has and continues to produce some of hockey's most renowned defencemen. Amid these careers, the Swedish churning mill of blueliners has produced several highly touted defence prospects, such as 2023 Detroit Red Wings first-round pick Axel Sandin-Pellikka. Underneath Sandin Pellikka and other well-known Swedish defence prospects, such as San Jose Sharks 2024 second-rounder Leo Sahlin Wallenius, lies a late-round pick who just turned heads at this year's World Junior Summer Showcase. With their second pick of the 2024 NHL draft, the Toronto Maple Leafs selected Victor Johansson in the fourth round with the 120th pick, who's emerging as a possible successor to Rasmus Sandin, the Leafs' last Swedish defence draft pick, as their next promising blueliner from the country. A month after partaking in Maple Leafs development camp this summer, Johansson was invited to represent Sweden at the Summer Showcase, where his poise and confidence with the puck throughout the tournament were on full display. Something he challenged himself to improve on after being drafted. "My offensive side," said Johansson on where his game has improved. "Toronto saw me as a defensive defender, when they drafted me, and after my draft year I dared to (make) alot more plays." Johansson wasn't bluffing when he talked about taking his offensive game to the next level, as he was one of the standout players at this year's tournament, where he produced arguably the tournament's best highlight reel. The Linköping, Sweden, native's lengthy frame of 6-foot-1 and 165 pounds allows him to be incredibly shifty with the puck on his stick, causing defenders to go one way while he's off to the other. Whether it was on purpose or not for Johansson to use the word "dare" when describing how he was going to challenge himself offensively, the plays he made were just that: daring. Throughout the tournament, Johansson frequently carried the puck from his own zone as the last man back, going end to end to create dangerous opportunities for himself or his teammates. One of the more eye-popping plays he made that showed off his skill set was during the Sweden vs. Team USA game, where he rushed the puck up ice while deking out not one, not two, but three American players to eventually carry the puck into the opposing team's end. Johansson's ability to break his team out of their zone, patrolling the opponent's blueline, while making himself look like a forward playing defence, saw him post three points in five tournament games, according to EliteProspects.com. One of Johansson's three points was his lone goal of the tournament, which shouldn't go unnoticed, as it was a play that started and ended with number nine. As Team Canada dumped the puck into Swedens end, Johansson curled down to behind Sweden's net to retrieve the puck and with a quick change of direction he was able to juke an oncoming Canadian forchecker to make a crisp breakout pass, where he would then follow the play up into Canada's zone to then receive a pass from a Swedish forward from the opponents halfwall where Johansson would roof a wrist shot top cheese. It was a shot that absolutely froze Canadian netminder and 2024 Columbus Blue Jackets second-round pick Evan Gardner, who, yes, was the only goalie beat in the tournament by Johansson’s shot, but by far not the only goalie who had to face one, as the left-handed blueliner created many offensive chances for himself all tournament long. For Johansson, this year's Summer Showcase wasn't a coming-out party for his offence, as he's coming off a breakout year with Leksands Idrottsforening (IF) under 20 (J20) team. In 47 games, Johansson racked up 39 points, 32 of which were assists, which was the most assists of any J20 North division defenceman. Not only was he Leksands' best offensive defenceman, but he was one of their best offensive players all season as he finished fourth in team scoring ahead of teammate and fellow Maple Leafs prospect Tinus Luc Koblar, who's a centerman. There may not be a better time for Johansson to start heating up as he has his eyes set on representing his country on its biggest junior stage. "Of course you wanna play World Juniors, that's on top of the list. Sign an NHL contract will be a dream come true as well." said Johansson on his upcoming goals. Signing an NHL contract might still be a year or two away for Johansson as he's under weight, for any NHL defenceman. Still, there's no denying that with another stellar half of the season with Leksands Johansson could earn himself a spot on a Swedish World Junior blueline that's helped positioned some of hockey's greats.
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