From practice squad surprise to leading rusher, Kimani Vidal secures his Chargers future after an incredible season.
Kimani Vidal is a success story, both for the NFL and for the Los Angeles Chargers. His financial success may have to wait another year or two.
A 6th round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft by the Chargers, Vidal made a splash in his NFL debut by catching a 38-yard touchdown pass from Justin Herbert against the Denver Broncos.
He played a small role in the team's offense for most of the rest of the season before losing a training camp battle for the final RB spot on the roster before 2025. The Chargers ended up waiving him, which nullified the rookie deal he was on, and signing him to their practice squad.
Just a few weeks later, he would be the team's starter, finishing the season as the Chargers leading rusher by carries and yardage. That mostly came as a result of injuries to Najee Harris and Omarion Hampton, but it was also the result of Vidal taking advantage of every opportunity he got.
He went over 100 total yards in five of his ten starts as the Chargers' emergency RB, often finding success behind an offensive line that resembled Swiss cheese.
Because Vidal does not have three accrued NFL seasons, the Chargers were able to place an exclusive rights tender on him this offseason. This means that Vidal's only option for playing in the NFL is on a one-year deal for league minimum with the Chargers. He signed that deal today. Next offseason, as a restricted free agent, he'll have a little bit more flexibility.
For whatever it's worth (and I don't think it's much), Vidal is currently listed as the Chargers starting RB on the Chargers.com depth chart ahead of Omarion Hampton and Jaret Patterson. Keaton Mitchell, signed as a free agent this offseason, is probably in this mix somewhere and Hampton is likely the team's starter (a job he took back when he was healthy enough to do so in 2025).
On the offensive side of the ball, it is hard to overstate just how important Vidal was to the 2025 Chargers. Without him performing as a league average RB behind a terrible offensive line, there's a real chance the team (and it's playoff hopes) collapse completely under the weight of the Hampton and Harris injuries.
Instead, Vidal has now cemented himself into the category of "legitimate backup RB" that will make it much easier for Mike McDaniel and Joe Hortiz to breathe should Hampton (and/or Mitchell) go down with some sort of injury in 2026.