Latest On Chiefs RB Jamaal Charles

Although Jamaal Charles is viewed as a potential release candidate this offseason, Chiefs general manager John Dorsey offered an — admittedly lukewarm — endorsement of the veteran running back when addressing the media yesterday, according to Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star.Jamaal Charles (Vertical)

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“Jamaal Charles is one of the finest running backs that’s ever put on a Kansas City Chiefs uniform,” Dorsey said. “What I admire most about Jamaal Charles is right now, at this present, he is working like the dickens to try and get himself ready for the 2017 season. We’ll see what happens in March and April, but right now, I see Jamaal as a Kansas City Chief.”

Charles, 30, is scheduled to count for nearly $6.2MM on Kansas City’s 2017 salary cap, a figure that includes a $3.75MM base salary, $1MM in per-game roster bonuses, a $2MM reporting bonus, and a $250K workout bonus. None of that money is guaranteed however, so as long as the Chiefs cut Charles before his reporting bonus is due, the club could clear out his entire cap charge.

If Kansas City doesn’t think Charles will be a contributor in 2017, it could certainly use that cap space, as the club is currently projected to possess only ~$3.5MM in financial room, the third-least space in the league. In addition to Charles, backup quarterback Nick Foles and his $10.75MM cap figure could be released in order to create space, but otherwise, the Chiefs may have to rely on restructures to free up wiggle room. Indeed, Dorsey hinted that Kansas City might look to rework contracts later this offseason, likely in March, tweets Paylor.

Charles missed most of last season thanks to knee injuries, and has only played in eight games over the past two seasons combined. The Chiefs do have other options at running back in the forms of Spencer Ware and Charcandrick West, each of whom are signed through the 2018 campaign.

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