Charles not in charge with finale on horizon
Running back Jamaal Charles knew he would watch last Sunday’s game on a sideline of FedEx Field. The Broncos told him beforehand that he would be inactive so they could give rookie De’Angelo Henderson a shot. And the veteran knows he could end up watching from the same spot Sunday, when the Broncos host his former team, the Kansas City Chiefs, in their season finale.
Although coach Vance Joseph said the Broncos have not considered releasing Charles, the 30year-old back has certainly
thought about getting out of Denver to try to latch on with a playoff-bound team.
“I ain’t playing. Might as well,” Charles said Tuesday. “No reason for me to just sit around and look at people play. It is what it is. I’m still going to be supportive of everyone on the team no matter what. I mean, they got my rights right now.”
Charles said he talked to his representatives about looking into his options for the remainder of this season and beyond.
“At the end of the day, I just got to see what’s the future for me. That’s the next step,” he said. “If it’s somewhere else or if somebody wants to pick me up. That’s the future. I want to play still. I turn 31 (Wednesday).
“I want to play. I feel like I never got a chance to show people that I can carry the load, so I still want to (show) that I can carry a team. I want an opportunity. That’s all I want.”
Charles signed a one-year contract with the Broncos in May after recovering from multiple knee surgeries and spending the entirety of his career in Kansas City. As the league’s alltime rushing average leader, Charles was expected to be a key piece of the Broncos’ remade offense, providing an infusion of speed and needed production on the ground. But he joined a crowded running backs room with C.J. Anderson, Devontae Booker and Henderson.
In 14 games, Charles recorded 69 carries for 296 yards and a touchdown, plus 129 receiving yards. But his chances have been limited.
Though he was active for the Broncos’ wins over the New York Jets and Indianapolis Colts, Charles didn’t receive a single carry. He’s averaged 15 snaps per game, or about 21 percent of the offense this season, and his 206 total snaps rank third behind Anderson and Booker. (Booker missed the first three weeks of the season because of a wrist injury.)
“I thought we were all going to get a chance to share the ball,” Charles said. “I never got a chance to be in the first 15, and it sucks. How the other running backs — like I look around and see the Patriots share the running backs, and New Orleans. You know what I’m saying? I just never got an opportunity.”
If Charles is indeed inactive Sunday against the Chiefs, it would eliminate his chance to earn an extra $100,000 for reaching 500 scrimmage yards on the season, as his contract stipulates. Charles’ deal includes incentives for reaching 500, 750, 1,000, and 1,400 scrimmage yards, with the final one worth $1 million. He is also due $78,125 for every game he’s on the 46-man roster for game days.
As he reaches what could be the final stretch of his career, Charles said health is not an issue. The knees that caused concern earlier in the year feel fine. And he feels like he still has plenty in the tank.
“Shoot, I’m healthy,” he said. “I didn’t play last week. I’m good.”