Report: Chiefs putting Jamaal Charles on injured reserve

We won’t be seeing Jamaal Charles darting through defenses in 2016, and possibly never again as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Poor Jamaal Charles. We barely knew him this year, as the NFL’s all-time leader in yards per carry average has never really been himself.

That’s understandable, as Charles has been working his way back from a torn ACL he suffered in his right knee last October. He wasn’t ready to start the season, then played sparingly the last few weeks, carrying just 12 times for 40 yards and a touchdown.

Now he won’t be playing at all. First came word that he’d need additional knee surgery:

And it seems that surgery will be needed immediately, because the Chiefs are putting Charles on IR, according to ESPN’s Field Yates:

We’re already headed toward Week 9, so this effectively ends Charles’ 2016 season. In an even more sobering thought for anyone who remembers him as a fantasy football terror in red, it could also mean his time with the team is coming to an end.

Charles will be 30 next season, an age when running backs historically lose effectiveness — sometimes shockingly fast. Add in the fact that he’ll be coming back from two knee operations and that he’s not signed past 2017, and it’s a very real possibility that Kansas City will have to bid him adieu.

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Ironically, while the Chiefs had plenty of running back depth to weather the storm while waiting for Charles at the start of the season, that’s no longer the case. Spencer Ware has filled in admirably as the lead back, but as he’s currently in the NFL’s concussion protocol, it could be down to Charcandrick West and recent addition Bishop Sankey to carry the ground game for the time being.

Here’s hoping we haven’t seen the last of #25, even if it means he’ll have to switch cities to keep toting the rock.