NFL Shocker: Najee Harris’ Injury Not Only Threatens the 2025 Season but Sparks Alarming Questions About His Long-Term Career

A trainer runs to check on Najee Harris after the Los Angeles Chargers running back sustained a leg injury during an NFL game against the Denver Broncos on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.(AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles Chargers running back Najee Harris’ 2025 season is in jeopardy after he sustained an Achilles injury during Sunday’s 23-20 victory over the Denver Broncos.

Moving to take a handoff on a second-and-4 snap at the Denver 48-yard line with 5:02 left in the first half, Harris never got to the football. The former Alabama All-American fell and grabbed his left leg in the backfield.

After the game, Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said Harris had sustained an Achilles injury.

“Preliminary is it’s an Achilles,” Harbaugh said after the game. “He’s getting imaging right now. …

“Just hoping for the best, that it could be an ankle or a high ankle or something else that wouldn’t be long-term. But I told him at halftime, ‘You’ll be back, kid.’ And I know he will.”

Harris signed with the Chargers as a free agent in the offseason after starting every game of his career across four seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Harris sustained an offseason setback when he suffered an eye injury in an Independence Day fireworks mishap. The injury kept him from participating fully in Los Angeles’ practices until the Monday before the Chargers’ season-opening game.

A 1,000-yard rusher in each of his seasons with the Steelers, Harris had 33 yards on nine carries and three receptions for 25 yards in his first two games with Los Angeles. He had six carries for 28 yards against the Broncos before getting hurt on Sunday.