New Chargers Signing Claims To Be "100 Percent" Healthy Following Leg Injuries

Intriguing new Los Angeles Chargers veteran running back J.K. Dobbins was swiped from the Baltimore Ravens this season on a one-year, $1.6 million free agent contract and, despite dealing with a rash of injuries, this veteran addition to Los Angeles' offense could be a boon for Pro Bowl quarterback Justin Herbert, as a core component of head coach Jim Harbaugh's newly reconfigured, run-heavy offensive attack.

The big question with Dobbins is, simply, can he stay healthy?

Following an impressive rookie season with Baltimore in 2020 (during which he ran for eight touchdowns and 805 yards), the 5-foot-10 Ohio State product tore an ACL while also hurting his lateral collateral ligament, meniscus and hamstring during the 2021 preseason, and had to sit out the year.

Due to a follow-up knee surgery intended to treat "a lot of scar tissue" in the injured knee circa 2022, he was limited to just eight contests. In the first week of the Ravens' 2023 season, however, Dobbins tore his Achilles tendon.

Per The Athletic's Daniel Popper, Dobbins was candid about his checkered injury past during recent statements to the press.

“I’ve had these injuries, and it’s been a storm,” Dobbins said. “But I think the storm is over with, and I think I’m going to take off now. There’s going to be no setbacks, and the ‘injury prone’ thing will be gone out of the window.”

“Everyone around the league knows that whenever I am on the field, the numbers don’t lie,” Dobbins said.

“Some stuff is above my pay grade,” Dobbins said, per Popper. “They just want what’s best for me, and they’re taking care of me, which, that’s what you want in an organization. … I really appreciate that because I’m the type of guy, I work really hard, so maybe sometimes I’m blind to the danger of something.”

While Dobbins claimed earlier this week that he has fully recuperated and expects to return in time for training camp, L.A.'s medical team, coaches and front office will ultimately determine whenever he does return, as Nick Shook of NFL.com detailed.

"I'm 100 percent now," Dobbins said. "It was like a walk in the park, it was like a sprained ankle. It was very easy, because I had the knee [injury] — the knee was pretty hard. The Achilles was, I would say, easy, just because that's my mentality. It was pretty easy to me. I've had these injuries."

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