{"id":12577,"date":"2025-10-19T10:24:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T10:24:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/12577\/"},"modified":"2025-10-19T10:24:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T10:24:11","slug":"kimani-vidal-could-help-chargers-avoid-pricey-trade-deadline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/12577\/","title":{"rendered":"Kimani Vidal could help Chargers avoid pricey trade deadline"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Kimani Vidal<\/a> waited in the shadows of a tailback logjam.<\/p>\n

The one-two punch of Najee Harris<\/a> and Omarion Hampton<\/a> blocked a route to consistent playing time. However, after Harris and Hampton were placed on injured reserve, questions arose about who would lead the Chargers<\/a>\u2019 running game behind its deteriorating offensive line.<\/p>\n

Vidal, the second-year running back who played sporadically last season, didn\u2019t make the 53-man roster to begin the season. The Troy University alumnus finally earned his opportunity to start for the first time last Sunday against Miami.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was most excited about him as next man up,\u201d coach Jim Harbaugh<\/a> told reporters last week. \u201c[It\u2019s] not another game to him. It\u2019s the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Vidal flourished. He rushed for 124 yards on 18 carries and also tallied a receiving touchdown. Among running backs in Week 6 with 10 or more carries, Vidal ranked fourth in yards per carry (6.9 yards) and third in yards before contact. With 72 of his rushing yards against the Dolphins coming before impact, the 5-foot-8 tailback had four carries for 10 yards or more.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt good,\u201d Vidal said, \u201cto get in the flow of the game and really provide for the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chargers offensive coordinator Greg Roman<\/a> said that Vidal has continued to grow and develop despite uncertainty about when the next opportunity would arise.<\/p>\n

Quarterback Justin Herbert<\/a> complimented Vidal \u2014 who is sharing reps with Hassan Haskins until Hampton returns \u2014 and the under-the-radar traits he\u2019s shown, such as improved pass protection.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can never have enough of those guys on your team,\u201d Herbert said. \u201cYou lose a couple backs, and you feel like you can put Kimani out there and he can go make a play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vidal wasn\u2019t the only younger player on the roster making an impression. Rookie wide receiver Tre\u2019 Harris<\/a> has done the little things, such as run blocking \u2014 even stuffing Miami defensive end Bradley Chubb last week \u2014 to turn into a must-watch player for Roman.<\/p>\n

\u201cTre\u2019 Harris kind of reminds me of a quote somebody told me a long time ago,\u201d Roman said, adding that Harris reminds him of former NFL wide receiver Anquan Boldin.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe same man could never jump into the same river. Tre\u2019 Harris is the same guy every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Chargers <\/p>\n

Chargers wide receiver Tre\u2019 Harris avoids Miami Dolphins cornerback Rasul Douglas during the second half of the Chargers\u2019 29-27 win on Oct. 12.<\/p>\n

(Rebecca Blackwell \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Harbaugh said Harris had key blocks on nine rushing plays against Miami. Roman noted his ability to get yards after catch \u2014 he has averaged 4.9 yards after receptions. The Chargers\u2019 second-round selection had four catches for 27 yards against the Dolphins.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust being consistent, being the guy we can count on \u2014 run game, pass game,\u201d wide receiver Keenan Allen said when asked about Harris. \u201cHe comes in \u2026 being able to do the tough things \u2014 the dirty work.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Harris, the adjustment to the NFL hasn\u2019t been easy, testing his motivation, he said.<\/p>\n

Lining up next to Allen, Quentin Johnston and McConkey has caused the wideout, Roman said, to create his own niche. It\u2019s all about finding ways to get on the field, Harris said \u2014 something he\u2019s accomplished in each of the first six games.<\/p>\n

\u201cI gotta find my own way to get on the field and block,\u201d Harris said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s what I\u2019m going to do. That\u2019s how I\u2019m taking my approach.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kimani Vidal waited in the shadows of a tailback logjam. The one-two punch of Najee Harris and Omarion…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12578,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[11474,10952,1535,423,6135,11471,11477,1542,48,52,51,47,50,49,1540,11476,11473,11475,11472,8843,1539],"class_list":["post-12577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-carry","tag-catch","tag-chargers","tag-game","tag-guy","tag-harris","tag-key-block","tag-kimani-vidal","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-miami","tag-omarion-hampton","tag-roman","tag-tre","tag-vidal","tag-way","tag-yard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12577\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}