EL SEGUNDO When the Chargers returned to the practice field Tuesday after their bye week, they welcomed running back Omarion Hampton back after he spent seven weeks on injured reserve because of an injured ankle. The team opened the window for him to return to the active roster. Whether he plays Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders after he was injured in the Chargers’ loss Oct. 5 to the Washington Commanders will be determined this week in practice. The Chargers (7-4) certainly could use him against the Raiders (2-9) and for the five regular-season games to follow. Hampton, a rookie who was the Chargers’ first-round draft pick (22nd overall), would provide some depth beyond Kimani Vidal, a second-year player who inherited the starter’s position after a series of injuries. Najee Harris went out for the season because of an Achilles tendon injury in Week 3. Hampton was placed on IR after he was hurt in Week 5. Hassan Haskins was placed on IR after he injured his hamstring in Week 7. Vidal responded by rushing for a team-leading 417 yards plus two touchdowns on 96 carries over eight games, including the first six starts of his NFL career. His only backup over the past six games was Jaret Patterson, who was the odd-man out as the Chargers exited training camp in August. Patterson rushed for 75 yards on 21 carries in relief of Vidal. Hampton was the Chargers’ leading rusher with 314 yards and two touchdowns on 66 carries when he was hurt when a Commanders player fell on his leg in a 27-10 loss to Washington at SoFi Stadium, a game they led 10-0 by the end of the first quarter. His possible return Sunday means the Chargers will have more options, not that Vidal wasn’t productive. Vidal rushed for 100 yards or more twice, including a career-high 124 in a victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 6. He also had 117 yards in a win over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 8. “Excited about that,” Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said of Hampton’s return to practice Tuesday. “Good to get him back on the field. Just going to ramp up, so we’ll see how the week goes. I’m not going to prognosticate that (workload split between Hampton and Vidal). We’ll see how the week goes.” In addition to Hampton, Harbaugh said the Chargers also opened the window for defensive lineman Otito Ogbonnia to return from IR. Ogbonnia has been sidelined by an elbow injury since the Chargers’ loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 7. The Chargers did not open the window for Haskins’ return. CRITICAL ANALYSIS Painful though it might have been for the Chargers’ coaching staff and their players, they dissected the video from their 35-6 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 11 and, indeed, each of the previous 10 games to determine what’s gone right and wrong with their season to date. Harbaugh didn’t dive into the specifics of what he and the others liked and didn’t like about the first 11 games, but he did say “part of the excitement” of returning to practice this week was putting into action for the final six games what was learned during their just-completed bye week. “Ready to chip away and work at it from all angles,” he said. O-LINE UPDATES Harbaugh said the bye week was especially good for tackles Bobby Hart, Trey Pipkins III and Jamaree Salyer, who will be counted on during the regular season’s final games to protect quarterback Justin Herbert and also create more room to run for Hampton and Vidal.
https://www.ocregister.com/2025/11/25/chargers-open-window-for-rb-omarion-hamptons-return/
