For the second straight year, Jamaal Charles‘ season has been cut short. According to ESPN’s Field Yates (via Twitter), the Chiefs running back has been placed on the injured reserve. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets that Charles will need surgery on his injured knee. The veteran has been battling knee issues all season as he attempted to come back from a torn ACL. Charles would be eligible to return to the Chiefs in Week 17.
The last we heard, Charles was visiting Dr. James Andrews for a checkup on his knee. The running back has been limited over the past couple of weeks due to a swollen knee. ESPN’s Ed Werder tweets that neither the team nor Dr. Andrew could pinpoint the source of Charles’ knee pain, but there must have been enough concern to place the veteran on the injured reserve.
The 29-year-old has played only three games this season, compiling 40 rushing yards and one touchdown on 12 carries. Charles also had a shortened season in 2015 thanks to a torn ACL, but the running back still managed to rush for 364 yards and four touchdowns in five games. The veteran has rushed for 7,260 yards during his nine-year career, which is the best in franchise history. The Chiefs could clear $7MM of cap space by cutting the running back following this season, and some, including Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com (via Twitter), believe Charles’ career could be over.
The Chiefs have relied on Spencer Ware in Charles’ absence, and the third-year player has rewarded the team with more than five yards per carry. However, the 24-year-old suffered a concussion during this weekend’s win over the Colts, forcing the team to play third-string running back Charcandrick West. The team signed Bishop Sankey off of the Patriots practice squad earlier today, and they may promote one of Darrin Reaves and Zac Brooks from the practice squad if Ware can’t play this weekend.