Running back Najee Harris spoke to reporters about his expectations of playing in the Los Angeles Chargers’ season-opening game.
Harris, who previously starred for the Pittsburgh Steelers, appeared in all of his former team’s regular-season games through four seasons.
Now he is looking to make an impact with his new team under head coach Jim Harbaugh.
During the Fourth of July holiday, he suffered a fireworks injury in California, which kept him away from Chargers practice. However, he was cleared to return to full-contact practice more recently.
Read more: Chargers Get Massive Update on Najee Harris’ Week 1 Availability
Although he wouldn’t speak about any specifics of his incident, he fielded questions on Monday regarding how he’s feeling since then, and explained that he’s been preparing to play.
“I’m ramping up to it,” Harris said when asked if he’ll be able to go on Friday.
“Every day I practice, and I think it’s like what? When is that? Friday. So, it’s like probably my fifth day at practice, you know, just trying to get back in that football shape, but, you know, I’m feeling good though, and we’ll just see where it leads,” he told reporters in a Chargers video.
Harris also said his vision wasn’t affected by the fireworks injury, calling it “superficial.” He shrugged off questions regarding the fact that he was wearing sunglasses and said he didn’t care if people thought he might be hiding something.
“I’m still going through it in a way, so just that whole situation really shows how things can change with a snap of a finger. It’s a blessing every day we wake up, and I’m just happy that everybody’s safe and alive,” he told reporters of the incident, which he referred to as “humbling.”
Harris participated in all 68 games of his Steelers career, with at least six touchdowns and over 1,000 rushing yards each season.
His new team, the Chargers, takes the field on Friday to battle the AFC Champion Kansas City Chiefs in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
In the part of the recent Chargers’ practice session open to the media, Harris didn’t take any handoffs from quarterback Justin Herbert. Instead, ESPN reported that Hassan Haskins and rookie Omarion Hampton took handoffs.
Harris reportedly spent time working with quarterbacks Trey Lance and DJ Uiagalelei. The expectation is that the rookie Hampton would be the Chargers’ primary option at running back if Harris misses time.
Read more: Chargers Rookie RB Predicted to Win Rookie of the Year Despite Najee Harris Addition
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