At one point this season, the true 1-2 punch for the Chargers was supposed to be Najee Harris and Omarion Hampton. The tandem was developing nicely into the Week 3 game against Denver until Harris suffered an Achilles tear. Two weeks later against Washington, Hampton would suffer an ankle injury that landed him on IR for the foreseeable future.
Now, Hampton returns from IR to a Chargers' backfield that looks unrecognizable. Kimani Vidal is now at 543 rushing yards on the season after initially being a roster cut. RB Jaret Patterson has had some quality rushing performances while Hampton and Hassan Haskins have been injured.
The new thunder and lightning RB tandem for the Chargers is Omarion Hampton and Kimani Vidal.
Hampton won't officially be activated from IR until Monday, but signs are clearly pointing to him playing vs. Philadelphia. Matt Zenitz of CBS sports first reported that there was optimism about a return for MNF earlier this week.
Initially, there was some concern about Hampton wearing the yellow noncontact practice jersey. He wore it last Friday at practice in addition to this week on Wednesday and Thursday. But yesterday, Hampton was back in the normal practice uniform. The UNC product registered his first full practice since his Week 5 injury.
Hampton spoke to the media after practice on Thursday in advance of a possible return. He was asked how badly he wants to play:
"I want to play bad," Hampton said. "Just to be out there, help my team out. Just be out there with the guys really."
Hampton was also asked about playing with Kimani Vidal and what that potential pairing could look like:
"Yeah, it's amazing to see him just go out there and produce the way he did and everything like that," Hampton said of Vidal. "That's definitely going to be special. Me and him gonna definitely be special."
How much Hampton actually plays remains to be seen. Last week, OC Greg Roman indicated that the team would use him and Vidal as a "1-2 punch". Back in October, Roman also indicated that the team considered the ankle injury "not complicated" in terms of Hampton's usage and effectiveness upon his eventual return.
Hampton will also get both an extra practice day this week on Saturday before the team gets rest on Sunday for MNF.
Vidal has gone for 23+ carries in three of the Chargers' last fives games. Having Hampton back in the fold will give him a bit of a break with how high his usage was over the last two months.
Kyle Monangai and D'Andre Swift of the Bears combined for 40 carries against the Eagles as they alternated drives. Ideally, a positive gamescript where the Chargers keep it close with the Eagles is key. If the Chargers fall behind by two or three scores like they did vs. Jacksonville or Indianapolis, Vidal and Hampton won't get many opportunities to lean into the Eagles' defense on the ground.
A good run game between Hampton and Vidal would also help out QB Justin Herbert's hand injury situation.