The Chargers are placing RB Omarion Hampton on IR for the left ankle injury that knocked him out of Sunday's loss to the Commanders. That means Hampton will miss at least the next four games. We'll watch for further details on his expected return timeline.
2025 Fantasy Football Impact
The Chargers, of course, already lost Najee Harris for the season. That means the backfield work will now fall to Hassan Haskins and Kimani Vidal.
They drew near-even work in Sunday's loss, including a matching 14 total snaps. Haskins edged Vidal 5-4 in carries and ran one more pass route than Vidal, according to Pro Football Focus.
Vidal edged Haskins on the ground, with a 4-18 line vs. Haskins' 5-13.
Last year found the then-rookie Vidal logging more carries and targets than Haskins despite appearing in seven fewer games. Vidal averaged 4.3 carries and 0.9 targets per contest to Haskins' 2.6 and 0.2 targets.
What's all that mean? We'll see.
Haskins has history with HC Jim Harbaugh, who also coached him at Michigan, including Haskins' backfield-leading final season (2021). But he's also averaging just 3.0 yards per carry across four years in the league.
Vidal arrived as a sixth-round pick last year but made little impact and had been on the practice squad before the past two games.
Expect Haskins and Vidal to land close to each other in our Week 6 RB rankings, where they'll likely stand closer to relevance than usual because of a high-upside matchup with the Dolphins.
Clashes with the Colts, Vikings, and Titans follow before Hampton's return eligibility opens in Week 10.
Other Winners & Losers
Bet on the Chargers also pushing plenty of passing volume over the next four weeks, with a WR corps much stronger than their depleted backfield.