Tuesday night the Denver Broncos announced they had signed running back Jamaal Charles to a one year contract worth up to $3.75 million. If you like Charles or are a Broncos fan, it’s tough not to get excited.
Excited to have Jamaal Charles join the Broncos. A great addition to our backfield, and we're thrilled we won't have to play against him!
— John Elway (@johnelway) May 2, 2017
I’m here to kind of shit on that a little.
The problem when it comes to aging NFL stars is we always want to remember them at their best. We create our own highlight reels in our minds and for Charles, it’s a pretty solid cut of film. He laid down five elite running back seasons in the NFL, surpassed 1,400 yards twice and scored 12 touchdowns in 2013. From 2008 (when he started two games) and 2015 (when he tore his kneee up in the fifth game) he never averaged less than five yards a carry and in 201 aferaged 6.4 yards a carry. That’s kind of insane.
Charles was part of a pretty historic three running back streak for the Chiefs, where they consistently had one of the best runners in the league from about a decade and a half. It began with Priest Holmes, then Larry Johnson, then Charles, who was probably more physically talented than both his predecessors and definitely didn’t come with the off-the-field baggage Johnson brought with him.
Proud to join Bronco Country! I'm blessed to be a part of something special! #GiveGodTheGlory pic.twitter.com/hdYkVKaiZx
— Jamaal Charles (@jcharles25) May 2, 2017
Charles has been a model citizen and great ambassador for the Chiefs and I’m sure cutting him sucked, but such is the nature of the NFL. Kansas City had two backs capable of replacing him in Spencer Ware and Charcandrick West and could afford to let him and his salary go. So they did.
The issue with Charles is he’s coming off his second ACL reconstruction. Such a surgery used to spell the end of a football player’s career just 17 years ago. Jamal Anderson and Terrell Davis were the two best running backs in the league. Each tore up their knees and were never the same. Huge strides have been taken in orthopedic medicine medicine since then, thank God, and Charles was as good as knew when he came back from blowing out his knee in 2011.
But that was six years ago. Charles was 24 then and there’s a big difference in how your body can recover when you’re 24 and when your 30. The real truth is, if the Chiefs thought he could still put up the old Jamaal Charles numbers, they would have never cut him.
If Jamaal Charles best offer was for minimum w/ no guaranteed $ his knees must be awful which makes decision to play at all curious at best.
— Ross Tucker (@RossTuckerNFL) May 3, 2017
So what do the Broncos know they’re getting? Charles is a smart player who understands the running and passing games at the NFL level. He’s a terrific receiver out of the backfield and, if all they get out of him is a great third-down back that can catch 40 passes, this is a good deal.
“I always wanted to play for Denver,” Charles said via a conference call Tuesday. “I still feel like I can still play ball. …It’s not about money. It’s not what you see, it’s what you don’t see. A lot of people see me (being washed up). I see me going out there, helping the team win and helping the team get to the playoffs and get to the Super Bowl. That’s what I see. I see things that are just in my fate.”
But maybe there’ll be an appearance from the old Jamaal Charles. Adrian Peterson was able to flash back after a late-in-his career knee surgery. Charles could too and, in that case, the Broncos just won the lottery and C.J. Anderson probably lost his starting job.
Justin Forsett hangs up his cleats
After a nice little late-in-his career ascenance, running back Justin Forsett has decided to call it a career. Forsett announced his retirement Wednesday, speaking with the Sports Spectrum.
“It’s time,” Forsett said. “I’m officially announcing my retirement from the game I love. It’s been an amazing ride and I’m grateful for every moment. My career has brought so many great people into my life, and I asked some of them to join me in saying goodbye. Against all odds, critics, and naysayers, I accomplished something great. Scouts measured my height and said I was too short. They measured my 40-yard dash and said I was too slow. They looked at my build and said I wouldn’t last. But they couldn’t measure my heart, my faith, and my perseverance. I am living proof that dreams come true and God answers prayers, and I thank God everyday for the opportunity to live out my dream.”
It's been an amazing ride and I'm grateful for every moment the game of football has brought me. ✌🏾https://t.co/HRkDxb5MsD
— Justin Forsett (@JForsett) May 3, 2017
Forsett battled to even stay in the NFL for years as an undrafted free agent. He had two solid seasons as a reserve in Seattle in 2009-2010, then bounced around the league for a couple of seasons before having the best year of his career, a 235 carry, 1,266 yard, eight touchdown campaign with the 2014 Baltimore Ravens. Forsett made his one and only Pro Bowl that season. He might have found a forever home there, but a broken leg in 2015 meant the Ravens needed to look for running back help elsewhere.
Last year Forsett took the field with three different teams, the Ravens, the Detroit Lions and the Denver Broncos. He had 87 carries for 291 yards and a score.
Fifth year option announcements roll in at the last minute
Over the last couple of days before the deadline, teams picked up a slew of fifth-year options from the 2014 first round draft class. The Jacksonville Jaguars will keep Blake Bortles the extra year. The Minnesota Vikings picked up the option for linebacker Anthony Barr. The Pittsbrugh Steelers did the same with linebacker Ryan Shazier.
C.J. Mosely of the Baltimore Ravens joined the option team as did Miami Dolphins offensive tackle Ja’Wuan James. The New England Patriots picked up Brandin Cooks’ option, the Green Bay Packers picked up Ha Ha Clinton-Dix’s option, the Kansas City Chiefs picked up outside linebacker Dee Ford’s option and the Cincinnati Bengals picked up cornerback Darqueze Dennard’s fifth season.
Finally, linebacker Deone Bucannon, not surprisingly, had his option picked up by the Arizona Cardinals, Wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin had his picked up by the Carolina Panthers and cornerbacks Jimmie Ward of the San Francisco 49ers and Bradley Roby of the Denver Broncos both had their fifth-year options checked off the “to-do” list.
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