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Kansas City Chiefs: It’s time to say goodbye

By Lyle Graversen

Oct 16, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles (25) celebrates scoring a touchdown against the Oakland Raiders during the second quarter at Oakland Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 16, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles (25) celebrates scoring a touchdown against the Oakland Raiders during the second quarter at Oakland Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 15, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles (25) eludes Oakland Raiders cornerback Tracy Porter (23) to score on a 39-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 15, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles (25) eludes Oakland Raiders cornerback Tracy Porter (23) to score on a 39-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

Jamaal Charles

No sense in beating around the bush here, Jamaal Charles is likely done in Kansas City. Look, it hurts me to say it. I love JC as much as any Chiefs fan out there. The guy is probably the best skill position player I have ever watched play in a Chiefs uniform. I believe the guy belongs in the Hall of Fame. Unfortunately he may not belong on the Chiefs roster in 2017.

Here’s the bottom line. In today’s NFL, $6 million dollars is a pretty steep salary for a running back. Charles is set to be the seventh-highest paid running back in the NFL next season. He has now hit the dreaded 30-year-old mark for running backs and over the past two seasons he’s averaged just over 40 carries and 200 yards per SEASON. Sadly, he’s also had too many knee surgeries and “procedures” to count at this point. He never could get right this past season coming off knee surgery and ended up having both knees worked on again towards the end of the year.

Maybe there is a chance that Charles has another solid season in him, but that’s a huge gamble at this point and frankly you don’t pay somebody the seventh highest salary at his position just to have a “solid season” and you especially don’t do it just to have him as a rotational guy off the bench. The Chiefs are just too strapped for cap space for that.

I have heard countless fans say that the Chiefs should just wait and see how Charles looks in training camp, but they don’t have the luxury of waiting with their cap situation. The Chiefs have to work on re-signing Eric Berry and Dontari Poe RIGHT NOW, not in August. The Chiefs need to go into the draft in April targeting a new running back that can add some explosion to a run game that fell off in 2016.

I know its hard to come to terms with. I know it sucks. I know we all wanted him to come back healthy and be the old Jamaal that we all watched dominate the NFL. Those days are now in the past and the Chiefs are trying to compete in 2017. They don’t have the cap space to be sentimental. I will always love Jamaal Charles, but the smart thing to do is to cut ties this offseason.

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