JK Dobbins and injury, an unfortunate pair

By Trevor Speetzen November 29, 2024 04:30

Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images

JK Dobbins suffered another knee injury in the Los Angeles Chargers week 12 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. While he didn’t suffer another tear, he did however suffer an MCL sprain that’ll sideline him for a couple weeks.

Luckily for Dobbins he’s going to avoid going on injured reserve, but it’s yet another injury that is derailing his once promising career.

Dobbins was drafted 55th overall in the 2020 draft by the Baltimore Ravens. He attended The Ohio State University and played football for them from 2017-2019.

Dobbins ran for over 4,000 yards in college and was a workhorse for the Buckeyes. However, since he has been in the NFL he’s had only one healthy season in the league.

In 2020, Dobbins played in 15 games, rushed for 805 yards and had nine rushing touchdowns. Since that promising rookie season, Dobbins has had at least one major injury in every year since being in the NFL.

In 2021, he suffered a torn ACL in the final preseason game against the Washington Football Team. The injury kept him out for the entire season.

In 2022, Dobbins was able to play eight games for the Ravens and he also started every single one of those games. Dobbins had a nagging knee injury during that season that put him on the IR for four weeks.

In 2023, Dobbins only played in one game. In week one against the Houston Texans, he tore his achilles tendon that abruptly ended his 2023 campaign. Dobbins only had 22 rushing yards in 2023.

Following the 2023 season, the Ravens chose not to re-sign Dobbins. He instead signed a one-year contract with the Los Angeles Chargers for the 2024 season.

In 2024, it seemed that a change in scenery was just what Dobbins needed. 2024 has been his most productive season since his rookie year and he stayed healthy for most of the year.

So far in 11 games, Dobbins has rushed for 766 yards on 158 carries with eight rushing touchdowns. He current yards per carry average is 4.8

Dobbins was looking like he could be in for a big pay day during the 2025 NFL offseason. Unfortunately in the week 12 matchup against his former team, Dobbins suffered another injury.

Dobbins suffered from a sprained MCL and is considered week-to-week. It’s unclear how long Dobbins will be out and his future in the NFL is also unclear.

Teams will likely be reluctant to give an injury-prone running back a massive contract. Dobbins injury history has ruined his chances of his hall of fame career and likely put his future in the NFL in jeopardy.

Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh spoke to the media earlier this season about Dobbins comeback campaign this season and resilience to comeback from devastating injuries.

“To watch him come back even stronger, quicker, faster than before the injury, what a testament to his will," Harbaugh said earlier this year. "It's just incredible.”

The Chargers will surely miss Dobbins as the team continues its push to make the 2024 playoffs.