{"id":96341,"date":"2025-06-01T19:11:12","date_gmt":"2025-06-01T19:11:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/96341\/"},"modified":"2025-06-01T19:11:12","modified_gmt":"2025-06-01T19:11:12","slug":"out-of-the-league-chargers-free-agent-faces-uncertain-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/96341\/","title":{"rendered":"“Out of the League” – Chargers Free Agent Faces Uncertain Future"},"content":{"rendered":"

Despite a strong season with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2024, running back J.K. Dobbins remains a free agent. A second-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft<\/a>, the Ohio State product struggled to stay healthy during his four seasons with the Baltimore Ravens and had to sign a one-year deal with Jim Harbaugh\u2019s Chargers. Entering the season as a backup, Dobbins outplayed Gus Edwards and finished the season with 905 rushing yards and nine touchdowns while adding another 32 receptions for 153 yards through the air.<\/p>\n

Even though he proved he can still play at an NFL level, no teams seem to have much interest in the free agent. While the Chargers used the UFA tender to potentially retain his rights in 2025, he\u2019ll struggle to see the field ahead of veteran Najee Harris and first-round pick Omarion Hampton<\/a>. Because of this and his extensive injury history, Bleacher Report\u2019s Gary Davenport<\/a> believes he could be out of the league in short order if he returns to Los Angeles. With this in mind, Dobbins might choose to sign a cheap one-year deal with the following teams.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver five seasons, [Dobbins] has missed more games than he has played in. And while 2024 was the best season of his career, NFL teams appear unwilling to sign a player with such an extensive injury history,\u201d Davenport writes. \u201cAnd If something doesn\u2019t give before camp opens, Dobbins could find himself buried on the Chargers\u2019 depth chart or even out of the league altogether.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"J.K.Jan 11, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins (27) runs the ball during the first quarter against the Houston Texans in the first quarter in an AFC wild card game at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images
\nWriter Warns Chargers J.K. Dobbins Could Be Out of the League Despite Strong 2024
\nPotential Next Teams
\nKansas City Chiefs<\/p>\n

The Kansas City Chiefs have a serviceable running back room of Isiah Pacheco<\/a>, Kareem Hunt, and Elijah Mitchell, but it wouldn\u2019t hurt to add someone like J.K. Dobbins to the mix. While his injury history makes him a somewhat risky signing, he offers more upside than anyone else on this depth chart. The Chiefs should have one of the league\u2019s better offensive lines, and Dobbins is better at identifying blockers and reading rushing lanes. Pacheco\u2019s downhill style is fun to watch, but he leaves too many yards on the field.<\/p>\n

San Francisco 49ers<\/p>\n

Christian McCaffrey is reportedly healthy<\/a> heading into 2025, but can the San Francisco 49ers really rely on him staying upright for an entire season? The two-time All-Pro is entering his age-29 season and has effectively missed three seasons to injury in his eight-year career. With no proven backup behind him, J.K. Dobbins could be an ideal free agent signing that should be able to produce in Kyle Shanahan\u2019s friendly scheme. While they don\u2019t have the most spending money, Dobbins shouldn\u2019t break the bank with his contract demands.<\/p>\n

Pittsburgh Steelers<\/p>\n

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a nice change of pace back in Jaylen Warren and a running back they hope can be their next starter in third-round rookie Kaleb Johnson<\/a>. Johnson has the talent to eventually lead this backfield, but Pittsburgh could use a short-term starter. Seeing as this passing attack probably won\u2019t break any records, the Steelers will likely rely on their running attack to do the heavy lifting. Dobbins can help ease the burden on Warren and Johnson while providing some boost as a three-down player.<\/p>\n

Main Photo: Thomas Shea \u2013 Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Despite a strong season with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2024, running back J.K. Dobbins remains a free…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":96342,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2064],"tags":[241,5403,5404,7,601,1014,262,2444,2443,4125,6,288],"class_list":{"0":"post-96341","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-chargers","8":"tag-chargers","9":"tag-chargers-featured","10":"tag-chiefs-featured","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-j-k-dobbins","13":"tag-los-angeles","14":"tag-los-angeles-chargers","15":"tag-losangeles","16":"tag-losangeleschargers","17":"tag-najee-harris","18":"tag-nfl","19":"tag-omarion-hampton"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114609696691034935","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96341"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96341\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}