The Los Angeles Chargers today elevated running back Nyheim Hines and running back Jaret Patterson from the practice squad for Thursday's game.
Hines, a former fourth-round pick by Indianapolis in the 2018 NFL Draft (104th overall), has been a dynamic returner in his five-year NFL career while adding offensive versatility. He played in each of the past two weeks for the Bolts as a standard elevation, returning seven kickoffs for 195 yards (27.9 avg.), including a 40-yarder in the fourth quarter of the Week 6 win at Miami to set up the game-winning drive. Hines has appeared in 82 career regular-season games, making 17 starts at running back. Hines has posted 1,202 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on 306 carries (3.9 avg.), while adding 240 receptions for 1,778 yards (7.4 avg.) and eight receiving scores on offense. On special teams, he has notched 89 punt returns for 1,015 yards (11.4 avg.) and a pair of touchdowns, while adding 39 kickoff returns for 1,012 yards (25.9 avg.) and two scores. Hines is a two-time AFC Special Teams Player of the Week winner, most recently in Week 18 of the 2022 season after returning two kickoffs for touchdowns.
Over three seasons on the gridiron at North Carolina State (2015-17), Hines appeared in 38 games, rushing for 1,399 yards and 13 touchdowns on 258 attempts (5.4 avg.). He added 89 career receptions for 933 yards (10.5 avg.) and a score. Hines earned first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors and Sun Bowl MVP recognition for a career year in 2017, when he totaled 1,112 yards and 12 touchdowns on 197 rushing attempts (5.6 avg.) and added 26 catches for 152 yards (5.8 avg.). One of football's fastest players, Hines also ran track for the Wolfpack, earning All-America status in 2016 for the 4x100-meter relay. He won the outdoor 4x100-meter relay in back-to-back years (2016-17) and earned a total of four All-ACC honors in outdoor track and field.
Patterson has appeared in 21 career games, including a start, with Washington and Los Angeles after entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2021. He totaled 344 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 85 attempts (4.0 avg.), while hauling in 10 passes for 73 yards (7.3 avg.) over two seasons (2021-22) in the nation's capital. The Glendale, Md., native spent last season on the practice squad for the Bolts and Commanders.
In three seasons at the University at Buffalo (2018-20), Patterson was a two-time team captain and had three-straight 1,000-yard campaigns on the ground. Patterson finished his Bulls career ranked No. 1 rushing touchdowns (52) in program history and second in rushing yards (3,884) and 100-yard performances (15). He set single-season school records with 1,799 rushing yards and 19 touchdown runs in 2019, tying his own record a season later with another 19 rushing scores. Patterson ran for 409 yards and eight touchdowns against Kent State in 2020, the most rushing scores by any FBS player in over 25 years, eventually earning recognition as All-America from The Associated Press and Mid-American Conference Offensive Player of the Year.
