Kansas City Chiefs: The Future Of Jamaal Charles

The Kansas City Chiefs are 1-4 on the season and are now without their Pro Bowl caliber running back Jamaal Charles.

Well let’s get this out-of-the-way, Sunday was miserable. Not only did the Chiefs lose the game in the end, but Jamaal Charles tore his ACL for the second time of his career. He’s now out for the season. Brutal.

You might see the title of this article and be angry that this is even coming up, and you can think what you want. The sad truth is Charles is a 28-year old running back who is fighting his second torn ACL, and keep in mind how much he means to Kansas City’s offense.

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This means that not only will he suffer greatly from this injury, but also the Kansas City Chiefs will take a massive hit. Since Charles has been basically the entire offense throughout the past few seasons, get ready for the Chiefs offense to struggle greatly. It’s always been dangerous for the Chiefs to rely so much on Charles, but it’s not like the team had other choices to turn to.

Look at what happens when LeBron James leaves a team and how much that team takes a step back. That is basically what will happen to the Chiefs offense now. The LeBron James of football is not there to help guide them.

As much as it pains me to say, I just can’t see him being the top running back he has been throughout his career. Odds are he will comeback a step slower.

Don’t get me wrong, this is probably the most painful statement I have made about my beloved Kansas City Chiefs and my favorite player.

Most running backs slow down once they approach their 30s and adding two major injuries to that just makes it worse. Charles has been blessed with an incredible career and while I don’t think it’s over, I do think his production will take a hit.

With this happening, Kansas City needs to figure out how to play without him. This injury should hopefully force them to throw the ball more and be more aggressive offensively.

Who knows, Charles could rehab well and end up getting a couple more electric seasons down the stretch. If he can do that, he would become another comeback success story for the Chiefs (Eric Berry is the other).

It hard to say what will ultimately happen with this injury, or even the franchise at that. Regardless, I feel that Jamaal Charles is the best running back in franchise history. I really hope he proves me wrong and bounces back from this injury.

Next: An Open Letter to the Kansas City Chiefs

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