As the trade deadline approached, there was much buzz surrounding the prospect of the Los Angeles Chargers striking a deal to bring in help for the backfield, especially given the, as of now, uncertain injury status of rookie running back Omarion Hampton.
Yet, the team ultimately only brought in offensive lineman Trevor Penning, and, in passing up on any number of running backs who might have been available, they have indicated a profound faith in rookie running back Omarion Hampton to become the team's lead rusher when he returns.
While it has been announced that his return will not come until at least the conclusion of the team's bye week in Week 12, it is apparent that he did enough in the two games he played with Najee Harris out that the team believes he can still be enough to satisfy the needs of this offense.
Omarion Hampton is now set to take on lead back duties yet again with the Chargers' trade deadline stagnancy
As the season opened, fans had abundant reason to be optimistic about the outlook for the team's backfield. Harris, despite any debates that could be had about his ceiling as a player, was a perennial 1,000-yard rusher, and Hampton, who the team selected in the first-round, was one of the most explosive players in college last year.
Yet, like many things with the Chargers this season, injuries got in the way. Harris suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in the team's Week 3 matchup against the Denver Broncos, and, just two weeks later, Hampton suffered an ankle injury that has now kept him out for a significant portion of the season.
Since that time, the team has utilized Kimani Vidal as their lead back, and, although he has performed well, they could still certainly use more of an explosive threat in their backfield in order to unlock the full force of this offense.
Yet, even with a player of Breece Hall's caliber available for a third-round pick, the team stood pat. While this was, in all likelihood, at least partially an indication of their lack of faith in their offensive line and their understanding of the limitations this team possesses, the lack of movement was still somewhat disappointing.
Nevertheless, it is clear that Hampton, when he returns, will now get his opportunity. Through the two games he played as the lead back, Hampton amassed 172 rushing yards on just 24 attempts, and, althought the play on the interior of the offensive line has stagnated since that time, it is reasonable to expect that he could still be highly effective when he comes back.
It remains unclear what the front office believes the trajectory of the team is this season (or even if they believe that any sort of deal at the deadline would have changed that). What is certain, though, is that Hampton is a massive piece of Los Angeles's future, and it will be interesting to see what he can do when he inevitably a full stretch of games with extensive touches.