After a brief offseason contract dispute with the team, Austin Ekeler remained with the team in 2023. His production, unfortunately, was not at the level of what he had produced in previous seasons. After a great performance against Miami in Week 1, Ekeler lost a step following an ankle injury that held him out until mid-October.
After returning against the Cowboys, Ekeler had just a hair over 500 yards on 163 carries for the rest of the season. He averaged 3.13 yards per rushing attempt in that span while simultaneously not having the same type of receiving production from previous seasons. In a contract year where Ekeler effectively bet on himself, it probably wasn’t what he wanted entering free agency.
The rest of the running back room didn’t carry their weight. Joshua Kelley had just 100 yards on 36 carries in the season’s last ten games. Isaiah Spiller had several healthy scratches and finished his second NFL season, averaging 2.6 yards per attempt.
Now, of course, the Chargers’ run scheme didn’t fail entirely because of the running backs themselves. The offensive line was pretty subpar at blocking, and Kellen Moore, unfortunately, couldn’t integrate his rushing attack like he did in Dallas. But Ekeler is approaching free agency as he will enter his age 29 season. And unlike when Melvin Gordon departed, the Chargers don’t have a solid answer or replacement on the roster.
In continuing our offseason position preview series, let’s turn to the running back room entering the offseason.