It’s been two weeks since Najee Harris injured his eye in a Fourth of July fireworks accident, and fans are still searching for clarity on just how serious the situation might be.
The Chargers running back will likely start training camp on the team’s non-football injury/illness list, general manager Joe Hortiz told reporters Wednesday, adding that he expects a potential stint on the NFI list to be a quick one.
“Nothing is set in stone,” Hortiz said.
Veterans reported to Chargers training camp Wednesday morning, but Harris had remained in the Bay Area at Stanford, where he has been working with doctors since the fireworks mishap.
Hortiz said Harris was slated to report to the Chargers’ facility Wednesday night.
If Harris ends up on the NFI list and isn’t cleared when the 53-man roster is set at the end of training camp, he’ll have to miss at least the first four games of the season.
Multiple people were injured in the incident, which took place in Antioch, Calif., and a friend of Harris’ lost fingers, according to ESPN.
In a statement on July 10, Harris’ agent, Doug Hendrickson, shared the running back’s injury was “superficial” and that he is “fully expected to be ready for the upcoming NFL season.”
Hortiz added that Harris is in “good spirits” and that “everything that has been relayed to us has been positive” with the injury.
“Surface-level injury, obviously around the eye, so I’m sure there’s bruising and all that. But we haven’t seen him,” Hortiz said. “We’ll get more clarity when he gets here and our doctors see him, but we’re in communication with the doctors there.”
The update elicited a skeptical response from some in the NFL world on social media, including a post on X from Pro Football Talk that read: “Everything about the Najee Harris eye injury has been strange. Everything. I hope he fully recovers and plays this season. But everything about the situation has been extremely strange.”
Another user sarcastically wrote: “I typically receive treatment from Stanford doctors for all my two-week old ‘superficial wounds,” adding in a separate post: “This hasn’t passed the sniff test from the start.”
The 27-year-old Harris signed a one-year, $5.25 million contract with the Chargers this offseason after spending his first four years with the Steelers.
He rushed for more than 1,000 yards in each of those four seasons in Pittsburgh.
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