The Los Angeles Chargers and former Baltimore Ravens running back J.K. Dobbins have agreed to a one-year contract, the team announced on Thursday, The move reunites him with Greg Roman, his former offensive coordinator in Baltimore, as well as his former Ravens backfield mate Gus Edwards, When healthy, Dobbins was the lead back for the Ravens. His style is distinct from Edwards’ in that he can catch passes out of the backfield and is elusive.
Although the Ravens didn’t throw a lot of passes to running backs, Dobbins caught a career-high 18 catches in his debut campaign with Roman. Dobbins may have an effect in the passing game, where the Chargers and quarterback Justin Herbert previously largely depended on former running back Austin Ekeler, With Dobbins’ signing, the Chargers have added another former Raven to their roster. The group includes tight ends coach Andy Bischoff, tight end Hayden Hurst, general manager Joe Hortiz, and others.
Despite his struggles with injuries, Dobbins remains one of the league’s most dynamic backs. He missed 42 of the 51 games the Ravens played over the previous three seasons, including the final 16 of the previous campaign due to an Achilles tear, Throughout his career, Dobbins, 25, has averaged 5.8 yards per rush, the greatest of any running back with at least 200 carries since 2020. Over the last four seasons, he has completed a run of 10 yards or more on 15.4% of his attempts (36 of 234 runs), which is second only to running backs Nick Chubb (17.1%) and Jaylen Warren (15.5%).
Dobbins was expected to take over as the lead running back in 2021 after breaking the Ravens rookie record with nine touchdowns, but he was sidelined by a season-ending left knee injury in the preseason finale. He wasn’t at his best in 2022, missing nine games as he worked to heal the knee injury.
For the first time in three years, Dobbins declared himself fully healthy going into the 2023 season opener. Then, five minutes into the first half of the Week 1 matchup with the Houston Texans, Dobbins took a short pass in the right flat and was tackled two yards short of the end zone, causing an Achilles injury.
Dobbins, who was selected by Baltimore in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Ohio State, has amassed 1,347 running yards and 12 touchdown runs in 24 games. The Ravens selected him in the first two rounds of the draft along with two other running backs, Ray Rice and Jamal Lewis.