Kimani Vidal Camp Update — August 31: The Cut Went His Way
2026 NFL Season · Monday, Aug 31
Vidal lost the finale comparison badly — three carries for nine yards while Greg Desrosiers ran for a hundred eighteen — and won the roster outright: Vidal made the fifty-three, Desrosiers was waived. The team's own depth chart lists him level with Keaton Mitchell as the backup to Omarion Hampton.
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The comparison we asked for ran, and its two halves point in opposite directions. On the field Thursday, Kimani Vidal carried three times for nine yards, per the CBS Sports box score, while undrafted rookie Greg Desrosiers Jr. ran nine times for a hundred 18 yards with a 34-yard fourth-quarter touchdown, per Eric Smith at chargers.com. On the roster, Vidal made the 53 as one of three running backs and Desrosiers was waived, per Smith and the team's transaction release. Gavino Borquez at Chargers Wire put the rookie's night in its place: a strong outing in the preseason finale that "was not enough to secure a spot on the roster." The waiver came three days after Jim Harbaugh had said of Desrosiers, "He was great. We really like him," per Smith. Nobody from the building explained the choice; the moves arrived by press release. The honest frame is that the team weighted a season of evidence over one exhibition night.
Vidal's season of evidence is real. The team's roster note points out that he actually led the Chargers in rushing last season, and our own numbers have him at 643 yards on a hundred 55 carries in 13 games, ahead of rookie Omarion Hampton's 545. And the team's August 20-fourth depth chart upgrades his standing from the framing we carried into the week: the backup line reads "Keaton Mitchell OR Kimani Vidal" — level with Mitchell, ahead of everyone else. An OR is not an ascension, and no coach quote elevates him, but it is a better seat than fourth name in the room. Mitchell, meanwhile, made the roster after what Mike McDaniel disclosed as a mild setback, and hasn't practiced since, per Chris Roling at Sports Illustrated's Charger Report.
The June thread called Vidal's case real production in a role that will not repeat on purpose — Hampton owns the lead job, Mitchell got the change-of-pace money. Cut day didn't change that hierarchy, but it firmed Vidal's place inside it: the louder fourth name is gone, and the team's own paper has him sharing the second line. We'll see how the touches actually split once the games are real.
_Data via nflverse._
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