The Chargers are activating RB J.K. Dobbins from IR and he’ll make his return Saturday against the Patriots.

One of the NFL’s most efficient backs, Dobbins is averaging 4.8 yards per carry this season. A big boost for L.A.’s stretch run.

Related Players: Kimani Vidal

With Gus Edwards already ruled out of this game, we would expect Dobbins to return to a pretty sizable workload. Consider him a low-end RB2 against the Patriots.

#LACvsNE game status

QUESTIONABLE — J.K. Dobbins, Will Dissly, Hayden Hurst, Elijah Molden

OUT — Gus Edwards, Trey Pipkins III, Denzel Perryman

Related Players: Kimani Vidal, Hassan Haskins

Vidal has seen minimal playing time in his rookie season, but the Chargers might not have a choice but to give him the rock in Week 17. If Dobbins misses, consider Vidal an RB3.

Chargers standout RB JK Dobbins suffered a knee sprain in Monday’s game that will cause him to miss some time, sources say.

He’s out this week against the Falcons and up in the air after that. Gus Edwards is his backup.

Related Players: Kimani Vidal, Hassan Haskins

Vidal was a healthy scratch in Week 12, so signs are pointing up for Edwards' usage this coming week. He should be considered a high-end RB3 while Vidal can't be trusted after spending Monday Night on the sidelines.

The broadcast revealed it was a knee injury for J.K. Dobbins, who was seen wearing a sizeable brace on the sideline. Dobbins would not return to the game and in his postgame presser following the loss, head coach Jim Harbaugh provided no real update.

Related players: Gus Edwards, Kimani Vidal

There was no update as of early Tuesday. For now, owners will just need to hold their breath a bit. The Chargers are already on a short week with the Monday night game and now head into Week 13, which is a Sunday game in the early window at the Falcons. We should hear more about Dobbins injury today, but owners will probably want to prepare to be without him because of the shorter week. Edwards would likely take over the early down work with Vidal possibly seeing passing down snaps, or working as a change of pace back.

I left Kimani Vidal off my 53-man roster projection after Week 1 of the preseason. My grade at that stage was “incomplete.” He had missed a week of practice, including the joint session with the Rams, before not playing in the preseason opener against the Seattle Seahawks. You have to earn your spot in the NFL, and that will especially be the case under Harbaugh. Vidal had a strong week of practice last week. He followed that up with a solid performance in his first game action. I have moved him ahead of Isaiah Spiller and onto the 53-man in my running projection.

Related players: Gus Edwards, J.K. Dobbins, Jaret Patterson

If you remember, we reported on this a few weeks ago when this writer left Vidal off the team's 53-man roster. Vidal was at least a popular dynasty selection up to this point, given the Chargers state at RB. However, Vidal looks to be making a move up the depth chart with solid, recent practices and preseason game showing. Edwards and Dobbins appear to be leading the way at the position with Patterson also having a nice camp. Vidal looks like he still has a lot of work to do to at least be the team's RB3.

Jaret Patterson has impressed the coaching staff, and he appears to have grasped the RB3 role right now.

Gus Edwards, J.K. Dobbins, Kimani Vidal, Elijah Dotson, Isaiah Spiller

Much like they did in Baltimore, Edwards and Dobbins will look to form the 1-2 punch. While Patterson seems to be in the lead for the RB3 role, the author of this story seems to think rookie sixth rounder Vidal could be left off the roster. He said of the four backs competing behind Edwards and Dobbins, Patterson has gotten the most reps with the first team in practice. He was also the first running back in the game Saturday, ahead of both Spiller and Dotson. The story went on to say Vidal was in uniform for warmups but did not dress for the game. Vidal has also been dealing with an injury and missed four full days of practice earlier this month, according to the story, including the joint practice with the Los Angeles Rams. The author ended by saying this competition is still wide open and things could change by the end of camp.

I see Gus Edwards as the clear lead back. The secondary touches are open for competition, though if J.K. Dobbins is healthy, I think he wins that job. Edwards was nursing an injury in the spring, but according to Harbaugh, he should be ready for camp.

Related Players: Kimani Vidal

"If he's healthy" is what we've been saying throughout the entirety of Dobbins' career. He has sadly had multiple major lower-body injuries, and the Chargers signed him to a very minimal contract. Vidal remains an interesting late-round fantasy addition for an L.A. team we are expecting to run the ball a ton.