Broncos’ Charles has put K.C. in rearview mirror

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Scribbling “28” next to his autograph takes some getting used to for Jamaal Charles, the Kansas City Chiefs’ all-time leading rusher who is embarking on a comeback with the AFC West rival Denver Broncos.

“I’m signing ‘25’ still,” Charles said, chuckling. “One time they were about to break down the huddle, and I was about to say, ‘Chiefs.’”

Habits may die hard, but Charles made it abundantly clear this week that he’s moved on from his old team because the Chiefs “fired” him after the season.

“I’m just happy to be a Bronco,” Charles said after donning a helmet and participating in individual running drills for the first time since signing a oneyear deal with an estimated worth of nearly $4 million. “The past is the past. If I was still a Chief, I would be there now. I’m here now. I was fired. Hey, it’s a business. I’m excited to be a Bronco.”

Charles, who had to get a new jersey number because 25 belongs to All-Pro cornerback Chris Harris Jr., said Denver has been his dream destination for years.

“I’ve wanted to be a Bronco since I was a little kid when I looked up to John Elway and saw how he carries his team and Terrell Davis at running back. That inspired me as a little kid,” Charles said of the two Hall of Famers. “I just like the way the organization was back then.” And now. Charles picked the Broncos, where Elway is now the general manager, for his comeback at age 30 following two years of knee troubles that led the Chiefs to release him.

Charles caught some flak from Chiefs fans on social media recently after former NFL tight end Jermichael Finley posted an old photo of their days together at the University of Texas in which Charles was rocking an Elway No. 7 jersey.

“I’ve been an Elway fan. You go back on my Instagram, you’ll see that way before. That was a throwback picture. That was in college,” Charles said. “I’m just excited to be a Bronco right now, so I’m not really caring about what people think. I was fired.”

Coach Vance Joseph reiterated this week that Charles won’t participate in team drills until training camp.

“I’m just happy they’re being patient with me,” Charles said. “I’m happy to come to an organization like this … where they’re just taking it slow with me.”

In nine seasons with the Chiefs, Charles ran for 7,260 yards and 43 touchdowns and added 2,457 yards receiving and 20 TD catches. But a career that looked as if it would land Charles in the Hall of Fame was derailed by injuries that cut short several seasons in his prime.

He tore his left ACL in 2011 and his right ACL in 2015, and last season he carried just 12 times for 40 yards in three games before requiring arthroscopic procedures on both knees. After the season, the Chiefs cut him to clear more than $6 million in salary-cap space.

If his knees hold up in August, the Broncos envision spot duty for Charles in a mix with C.J. Anderson, Devontae Booker and rookie De’Angelo Henderson.

Charles, however, imagines a much bigger role in the Broncos backfield, which ranked 27th in the league last year with just 92.8 rushing yards per game, a big reason Denver missed the playoffs a year after winning the Super Bowl.

Jets cut LB Harris

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — David Harris has made his final tackle for the New York Jets.

The playmaking linebacker was released Tuesday, a stunning move in which the team parted ways with one of its most-productive and well-respected players.

“It was an organizational decision,” coach Todd Bowles said.

Cutting the franchise’s second-leading tackler, who practiced with the team Tuesday and was in the locker room afterward, will save the Jets $6.5 million on the salary cap. Bowles said the team and Harris, a second-round draft pick out of Michigan in 2007, had been discussing a salary reduction.

“They didn’t come to an agreement and we didn’t come to an agreement, and it led to this,” Bowles said. “It wasn’t an easy time. David has been a Jet all his life. He … bled green.”

The Jets also are planning to trade or cut wide receiver Eric Decker.

General manager Mike Maccagnan said Tuesday if the Jets can’t deal Decker, they will move forward without him.

Decker’s departure will save the Jets $7.25 million on the salary cap.

The move to cut Harris was a surprise because of his status as the Jets’ longest-tenured player — and it being so late in the offseason.

Titans sign McKay

NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Titans have signed wide receiver MeKale McKay and have waived injured cornerback John Green.

McKay, who is 6-foot-5 and 210 pounds, had been waived by the Denver Broncos last month. He spent time on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ practice squad last season after signing with the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent out of Cincinnati.

McKay had 87 catches for 1,717 yards and 17 touchdowns in 38 games with Cincinnati after transferring from Arkansas.

The Titans had signed Green last month as an undrafted free agent out of Connecticut.

Fox hires Blandino

LOS ANGELES — Fox has hired former NFL officiating chief Dean Blandino to work as a rules analyst for the network’s college football and NFL coverage in 2017.

Blandino joins Mike Pereira, another former head of NFL officiating who has been Fox’s rules analyst for several years.

The announcement was made Tuesday by John Entz, president of production and executive producer at Fox Sports.

Blandino, who worked under Pereira at the NFL beginning in 1998, resigned from the league earlier this year.

Felony charge for former 49er Brock

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Former San Francisco 49ers cornerback Tramaine Brock has been charged with felony domestic violence.

The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office said Brock was arraigned Tuesday in a San Jose courtroom. He is accused of punching and attempting multiple times to strangle his girlfriend on April 6 during a dispute over what to watch on television. Prosecutors say one of the strangling attempts occurred as she was carrying their 1-year-old child.

Prosecutors have also charged Brock with misdemeanor child endangerment. If convicted, he faces up to 5 years in prison.

The 49ers released Brock the day after he was arrested.