Kansas City Chiefs: Jamaal Charles Speaks Out About His Health

Kansas City Chiefs star running back Jamaal Charles posted a column on his blog about his health and the events leading to his going on Injured Reserve.

Looking beyond this week’s playoff game (and any games beyond that for this season), one of the biggest stories for the Kansas City Chiefs this offseason will be the situation regarding Jamaal Charles. The star running back is currently on Injured Reserve (IR), leaving many fans and analysts questioning what the future holds for him. Charles recently spoke out on this in a blog post.

There has been very little information regarding Jamaal Charles in recent months, save for a couple of “per source” reports about coming back for the playoffs. Of course, that did not play out as the Chiefs instead brought linebacker Justin March off of IR. Apart from that, the only real talk about Charles has been how Kansas City should approach his contract in 2017.

So getting a report from the man himself is definitely worth some attention. My immediate reaction upon reading his post was appreciation that an athlete would so openly talk about a tough situation like this. Certainly it cannot be easy for a player to watch his teammates compete for the ultimate prize in their profession.

For his own part, Jamaal Charles expressed pride in his team for accomplishing what they have. His love for the organization and his fellow players is pretty self-evident. However, when reading his post, one cannot help but feel how much Charles wishes he were out on the field right now.

Where Is He Now?

As of now, Jamaal Charles is not traveling or working at the Kansas City Chiefs facilities. Instead he is currently in Pensacola, Florida, working on his rehabilitation. He has been there for the last several months, focusing on getting ready for the 2017 NFL season.

Jamaal Charles is actively working with trainers and Dr. James Andrews in his rehabilitation. He is following their advice fully rather than trying to do too much (more on that later). The goal at this time is for Charles to get healthy and strong for next season so that he can contribute to his team. Hopefully that team will still be the Kansas City Chiefs.

So What Happened?

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from his post is that Jamaal Charles makes it clear that what happened was largely his own fault. Charles states bluntly that he does not believe that he came back too soon. Rather, he attributes his current issues to doing too much extra work as he tried to get up to speed.

Furthermore, Jamaal explains that he did not get hurt in a game. He aggravated his injury in practice while running drills with the rest of the running backs. Charles explains that he had been doing a lot of work on his own, on top of the prescribed work of his coaches and trainers. That would seem to be a very key admission and clue in regards to how he got injured.

Dr. James Andrews

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Kansas City Chiefs fans have been skeptical of the renown Dr. James Andrews. With setbacks to both Justin Houston and Jamaal Charles, that is certainly to be expected. However, Jamaal has nothing but good things to say about Dr. Andrews. The noted surgeon has continued to work with the Chiefs running back and it seems things are going well.

One important aspect of this is that Jamaal Charles elected to have surgery on both knees because it seemed the prudent course of action. However, neither knee was an aggravation of his prior ACL injuries. The knee that was giving him problems was a result of a torn meniscus. The other knee was a simple cleaning up of his previous surgery (my wife recently had to do the same thing).

What Does The Future Hold?

Jamaal Charles says point blank that he does not know what the future holds for him. That may be a bit distressing for some Kansas City Chiefs fans. However, I wouldn’t read too much into that. Charles doesn’t know simply because it is hard for anyone to know right now. Those are the kinds of things that will be worked out in March.

However, Jamaal does mention that he has been in contact with a number of people from the team, including Andy Reid, Eric Bienemy, and the training staff. Charles also mentions that he speaks often with players like Eric Berry, Jeremy Maclin, and Derrick Johnson. It should be no surprise that he is a popular teammate.

Related Story: Kansas City Chiefs Should Do Right By Jamaal Charles

I have made my own thoughts pretty clear on what the Kansas City Chiefs should do with Jamaal Charles, but that is their decision to make. The star running back has made it clear on a number of occasions that he considers the Chiefs his team as he has never suited up for anyone else. It’s hard to imagine him in another uniform. Hopefully the Chiefs brass agrees.

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For years Jamaal Charles has carried this franchise on his back. That hasn’t always meant the best results, but that doesn’t change what he has done for KC. Through some of the darkest seasons in recent memory, Charles has been a bright spot. It’s almost bittersweet that the Chiefs have their best shot at a Super Bowl while he is unable to contribute. While I hope he continues on with the Kansas City Chiefs, I will always remember fondly how he left everything on the  field for this team.