The Chargers are hopeful that their new running back Najee Harris will be available for their Week 1 contest vs. the Chiefs on Friday, Sept. 5 in Brazil, the team's general manager Joe Hortiz shared on Saturday.
Harris has spent the entirety of training camp on the non-football injury/illness list after suffering a minor eye injury during a fireworks incident on July 4. He signed a one-year deal with Los Angeles back in March after spending the first four years of his career with the Steelers. So, the Chargers will be really glad if Harris does play in Week 1.
"Najee's doing great, going through all the medical processes," Hortiz said. "But he's on track, and I think he should be able to go, hopefully in Week 1."
Hortiz's comments come just days after Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh gave an interesting quote about Harris's injury update. Harbaugh's comment was definitely more broad and could be understood in various ways.
"When Najee's ready to play, he'll be ready to play," Harbaugh said. "Right now, to take it past today would be going over the legal limit."
Harris did participate in drills on Aug. 12, and he's continued working with an athletic trainer on his own the last few weeks of training camp. NFL fans haven't seen or gotten any details about Harris's eye injury, as he wears a helmet and visor, or dark glasses when he is seen in public.
Harris has just under two weeks to come off the non-football injury/illness list ahead of the 2025 season kicking off. With no time in training camp with his new team, though, Harris might not pop off right away with the Chargers, but we'll see what his first performance looks like.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Chargers GM Provides Promising Update on RB Najee Harris Ahead of Week 1.