While many Pittsburgh Steelers fans settled in for the late window, trying to figure out how to celebrate an uncomfortable Week 3 win, those tuned in to see Najee Harris with the Los Angeles Chargers saw him suffer an unfortunate injury.
Harris lined up as a single back behind Justin Herbert and appeared to be stepping up for a routine play fake, but he immediately dropped to the ground, reaching for his leg. Harris was eventually carted off the field with an apparent Achilles injury.
Replays from behind the play show the typical signs of a severe Achilles injury as he pushed off his left foot.
Najee Harris's scary injury couldn't come at a worse time for the Ex-Pittsburgh Steeler
We’ll continue to monitor the former first-round pick for Pittsburgh as more information becomes available, awaiting a confirmed diagnosis of his injury. But, unfortunately, early indications point toward a tough road back to the field for Harris.
Harris spent four seasons in Pittsburgh as the primary running back, topping 1,000 yards in each season without missing a single game. While Harris was always productive for the Steelers, it was often attributed to his large volume of touches. For Pittsburgh, he averaged just 3.7 yards per carry.
After his fifth-year option wasn’t picked up, the Steelers let Harris walk in free agency. He signed with the Chargers on a one-year, $5.25 million contract. The Chargers also drafted North Carolina tailback Omarion Hampton in the first round, who head coach Jim Harbaugh seemed to position as a compliment to Harris as he developed.
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Of course, Harris’ tenure with Los Angeles got off to a difficult start this summer when he was involved in a firework accident while celebrating Independence Day. That situation left Harris with a mysterious eye injury, though he was ready to suit up and play for LA when the regular season arrived.
Harris had just nine carries for 33 yards and three catches for 25 yards for Los Angeles this season.
With Harris having just a one-year contract and the Chargers having Hampton on the roster as the long-term plan, the injury couldn’t come at a worse time for Harris. While he has a long road ahead of him to get back to the field, the entire NFL world is hoping for a strong recovery for the 27-year-old running back.