Najee Harris injury update: Chargers RB speaks out on availability for Week 1 vs. Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers running back Najee Harris said Monday he is expecting to play in Friday’s Week 1 game against the Kansas City Chiefs in São Paulo, Brazil. Harris, who had been on the non-football injury/illness list after injuring his eye in a Fourth of July fireworks mishap, just returned to practice last Wednesday.

“Yeah, I’m ramping up to it,” Harris said, via Daniel Popper of The Athletic. “… This is probably my fifth day of practice, just trying to get back into football shape. But yeah, I’m feeling good. We’ll just see where it leads.”

Head coach Jim Harbaugh said Monday that Harris has been cleared to participate in full-contact practice. Harbaugh stopped short of saying whether Harris would be in the lineup against Kansas City.

“There’s a possibility,” Harbaugh said, via Kris Rhim of ESPN. “He’s looked really good in practice.”

Najee Harris declines to get into specifics about eye injury

The fireworks incident occurred in the early morning hours July 5 in Antioch, California. Police said some injuries were treated at the scene while others were hospitalized. Bay Area News Group reported that Harris went to John Muir Hospital in Concord for treatment before later going to Stanford Hospital.

Harris’ agent, Doug Hendrickson, confirmed the former Alabama star was present at the time of the explosion. He suffered a “superficial eye injury,” though he declined to go into detail when asked Monday.

Harris, 27, is entering his fifth season in the NFL and first with the Chargers after signing a one-year, $5.25 million contract earlier this offseason. He is expected to form a one-two punch out of the backfield alongside rookie tailback Omarion Hampton. Harris has never missed a game in his career. Should he miss the regular season opener, expect Hampton to carry the bulk of the workload.

In 68 career games, Harris has rushed for 4,312 yards and 28 touchdowns on 1,097 carries. This leads to him averaging 3.9 yards per carry, a number everyone in Los Angeles will be hoping to see increase beginning in 2025.