The Los Angeles Chargers provided an update on the status of former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris, who injured his eye in a July 4 fireworks accident, shortly before training camp is set to begin.
Per The Athletic’s Daniel Popper, Chargers general manager Joe Horitz told reporters that Harris will be placed on the NFI list. Additionally, he stated that Harris will report to The Bolt, which is Los Angeles’ practice facility, later today.
Horitz also mentioned that Harris has been receiving treatment from doctors at Stanford since sustaining his injury.
Per a statement released by Harris’ agent Doug Hendrickson last week, the 27-year-old was present at a gathering on July 4 in which a fireworks accident transpired, resulting in the former first-round pick sustaining a “superficial” eye injury. Hendrickson mentioned that Harris should be ready to go in time for the regular season.
“Najee Harris was present at a 4th of July event where a fireworks mishap resulted in injuries to several attendees. Najee sustained a superficial eye injury during the incident, but is fully expected to be ready for the upcoming NFL season,” Hendrickson said.
On Monday, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport stated that Harris would not miss a substantial amount of time while recovering from his injury.
“I think some questions regarding Najee Harris’ availability is fair,” he said on ‘The Insiders’. “My understanding of where he stands is he is not expected to miss significant time. Now, there was a fireworks incident, it does sound like some damage — “superficial” was the word that his agent Doug Hendrickson used. But from what I understand, this will be someone on the field sooner rather than later and is not expected to miss games.”
Players who are on the NFI list come the start of the regular season must miss four games, but that likely won’t occur with Harris. Teams can activate players off the list at any time during training camp.
Harris spent four seasons with the Steelers after going No. 24 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. He appeared in 68 games over that stretch while recording 4,312 yards and 28 touchdowns on 1,097 attempts. Harris also picked up 1,149 yards and four scores through the air across 180 receptions.
He went on to sign a one-year deal worth a base value of $5.250 million with an additional $4 million available in incentives with the Chargers, allowing him to return to his home state of California this offseason.