Written by Kevin Patra at NFL.com
Jamaal Charles’ torn ACL in Week 5 ended the running back’s season and left the Kansas City Chiefs’ offense without a wheel to spin on.
K.C. then went 11-2 and made the playoffs.
Behind Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware, coach Andy Reid’s offense hummed along to 10 straight regular season wins. The Chiefs finished sixth in the NFL in rushing, averaging 127.8 yards per game. West’s between-the-tackles running, Ware’s strength and elusiveness — combined with Alex Smith’s mobility — provided Kansas City with a chain-moving ground attack.
ter watching West and Ware, NFL Media analyst and Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk wondered if the duo has made Charles expendable.
“The conversation is, ‘Why does Kansas City keep Jamaal Charles when you saw Spencer Ware and Charcandrick West? For what reason?'” Faulk recently asked the Kansas City Star. “I can’t even see what reason they would continue to pay (him) if they have a way of getting up from under that contract and dispersing money elsewhere to fill some of the gaps that they have. And that’s just real talk — that’s the business of the game.
“I love Jamaal, and I think he could find another home. I think there’s a lot left in him. But looking at what went on when he went down in Kansas City, are his days possibly numbered there?”
The Chiefs could save about $5.3 million dollars — with no dead money — by cutting Charles. K.C. has a bevy of pending free agents including Eric Berry,Derrick Johnson, Tamba Hali, Jaye Howard, Sean Smith and Husain Abdullah, among others. However, the Chiefs will also have an estimated $32 million in salary-cap space without snipping Charles, per OverTheCap.com.
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