After a somewhat slow start to his professional career that saw him gain just 72 rushing yards on 23 carries in the Los Angeles Chargers' first two games of this 2025 season, first-round rookie running back Omarion Hampton finally started to hit his stride in Week 3, going for 70 yards and a touchdown in the Bolts' 23-20 victory over the rival Denver Broncos.
That win over the Broncos, of course, Najee Harris suffered a season-ending Achilles tear, and with his backfield mate on the shelf, Hampton stepped up with his first genuine breakout game in Week 4 against the New York Giants, rushing for 128 yards and a touchdown on just a dozen carries, also adding another 37 yards on five receptions.
But the following week, after amassing 44 rushing yards and 26 receiving yards against the Washington Commanders, the UNC alum was knocked out of the game after suffering a high-ankle sprain and was placed on injured reserve the very next day.
As such, Hampton obviously won't be on the field this Sunday when the Chargers take on the Tennessee Titans, as he's required to sit out for at least four games. Nevertheless, Jim Harbaugh was asked in his Tuesday press conference about the 22-year-old's status and offered up this response:
"Omarion to me looks like he's getting better every day," Harbaugh said. "We know he won't be there this week, though, per league rules." He then added, "I don't want to speculate any further."
Jim Harbaugh leaves Chargers fans with more questions than answers about Omarion Hampton
That's pretty much par for the course for Harbaugh, as he's typically always been a little guarded when it comes to discussing injuries. That said, though, he didn't have a problem opening up a bit more on the respective statuses of Tarheeb Still, Derwin James, and Mekhi Becton.
Now, perhaps the reasoning there is because those three players are actually eligible to play this week, whereas Hampton obviously isn't. But still, it's a little more cryptic than some Bolts fans might like, even if the little info he did offer up seemed somewhat encouraging.
What wasn't so encouraging, however, was Hampton still being seen wearing a walking boot following the Chargers' win over the Minnesota Vikings last Thursday night, which has led to speculation that he'll be out for longer than initially expected. Yes, that's been almost a week now, but Harbaugh's comments didn't really do a ton to ease the overall concern.
Thankfully for the Bolts, Kimani Vidal has stepped up and performed beautifully in Hampton's absence, rushing for 261 yards and a touchdown in the Chargers' last three games and adding another 39 yards and a score on eight receptions.
Vidal deservedly received a heap of praise from Harbaugh in the same presser, but if he goes down with any sort of injury himself, the Bolts are in big trouble, as the next man up on the depth chart would be Hassan Haskins, who missed the matchup with the Vikings with a hamstring injury, thus forcing Harbaugh to insert Jaret Patterson into the mix.
So, unless the Chargers end up making a trade before next Tuesday's deadline, getting Hampton back on the field is crucial. We'll just to have to wait and see how things progress over the next week and a half to find out if Hampton is indeed "getting better every day."