Former Baltimore Ravens running back JK Dobbins plans to sign a one-year contract with the Los Angeles Chargers, according to his agency, LAA Sports.
The move reunites him with Greg Roman, his former offensive coordinator in Baltimore, as well as his former Ravens teammate Gus Edwards.
Dobbins was the Ravens’ point guard when healthy. He brings a different style than Edwards that is characterized by elusiveness and the ability to catch passes out of the backfield.
The Ravens didn’t make many throws to running backs, but in Dobbins’ rookie season with Roman, he caught a career-high 18 passes. The Chargers and quarterback Justin Herbert have relied heavily on former running back Austin Ekeler in the passing offense in the past, and Dobbins could potentially make an impact there.
Dobbins’ signing continues a wave of former Ravens who are now Chargers that extends across the front office, from general manager Joe Hortiz to tight ends coach Andy Bischoff and tight end Hayden Hurst.
Dobbins is one of the most explosive guards in the league, but he has struggled with injuries. Over the past three seasons, he has sat out 42 of the Ravens’ 51 games, including the final 16 of last season due to a torn Achilles tendon.
Dobbins, 25, has averaged 5.8 yards per carry during his career, which is the most among running backs with at least 200 carries since 2020. He has produced one run of 10 yards or more on 15.4% of his attempts (36 out of 234 races). ) over the past four seasons, which ranks behind only Nick Chubb (17.1%) and Jaylen Warren (15.5%) among running backs.
After setting a Ravens rookie record with 9 touchdowns, Dobbins was poised to take over as the starting running back in 2021 until he suffered a season-ending left knee injury during the pre-season finale. In 2022, he was not at full strength and missed nine games while trying to recover from that knee injury.
Heading into the 2023 opener, Dobbins declared himself 100% healthy for the first time in three years. Then, five minutes after halftime in the Week 1 game against the Houston Texans, Dobbins received a short pass in the right flat and injured an Achilles when he was knocked to the ground 2 yards from the zone goals.
A second-round pick out of Ohio State in 2020, Dobbins had 1,347 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns in 24 games with Baltimore. He is one of three running backs drafted in the first two rounds by the Ravens (Jamal Lewis and Ray Rice were the others).
ESPN’s Kris Rhim and Jamison Hensley contributed to this report.
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