The LA Chargers' offseason negotiations with J.K. Dobbins were genuinely one of the stranger stories to follow this spring. As soon as free agency opened, it became clear they were pursuing RB Najee Harris without seemingly much public interest at all in a Dobbins extension. In April, they then drafted UNC RB Omarion Hampton in the first round.
Days after selecting Hampton, the Chargers applied an unrestricted free agent tender to Dobbins.
This tag technically achieved two goals for the Chargers. If no team signed Dobbins by the start of training camp, they'd have exclusive negotiating rights with him. But considering they had already acquired Hampton and Harris, it seemed much more likely that Joe Hortiz's motive in applying the tag was compensatory pick related.
Broncos RB J.K. Dobbins speaks out on his Chargers departure
After signing with the Broncos in June, Dobbins said this about having the tag placed on him:
"Yeah, that was a little weird,'' Dobbins said. "But that was something for my agent to handle, but good luck to them, I'm a Bronco now, they've got to see me twice a year. Of course I'm going to have a chip on my shoulder, but here I'm worried about winning. I don't want to just beat the Chargers, I want to get a ring."
Yesterday, Dobbins was asked about the "revenge game" aspect of playing the Chargers and had this to say:
"Hopefully I'll touch 100 this week," Dobbins said. "However, that may be. However many touches that may be. I'm going to try to touch 100 this week, for sure. It will only be right. I'm back to where I used to play."
Dobbins once again touched upon the complexity of the odd contract negotiations with the Chargers after being asked about the team moving on to Harris and Hampton. The Ohio State product maintains that they team wanted him back, but that the two sides couldn't agree to a deal:
"They did (want me back). But we just didn't see eye to eye," Dobbins explained. "Business is business. They did what they had to do. I did what I had to do. They absolutely wanted me, but we just didn't see eye to eye business-wise. That's where that's at."
Dobbins responded with "something like that" when asked if the disagreement was over salary.
Hampton and Harris will look to improve off of a rough two weeks for the Chargers' running game while Dobbins looks for his revenge. The Chargers currently rank 32nd in EPA/rush. If they are to beat Denver, one would have to think that the team will need a better performance on the ground than they've had in the first two games of the season.
The Chargers will kick off against Dobbins' Broncos at 1:05 PM PT Sunday on CBS.