According to ESPN NFL Insider Dan Graziano, the Denver Broncos and former Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles will strike a deal, pending a successful physical. Charles is in Denver on Tuesday to meet with the team.
Graziano said on ESPN, “What I was told yesterday was that if the physical goes well the expectation is that Charles and the Broncos would do a deal.”
Charles is recovering from a knee injury that has caused him to miss 24 games and the playoffs over the last two seasons. He tore his ACL in 2015, then was placed on the DL in 2016 with complications from that injury.
“That’s a big if,” Graziano continued on about the physical, “this is a guy who played only eight games the last two years, total, because of knee injuries. If it checks out and they’re happy with how he’s looking they would add him to their mix.”
“Mix” is the key word for Graziano, as he says he doesn’t expect the Broncos to make Charles the featured back. He’d be a counter-balance to C.J. Anderson, Denver’s veteran running back who’s had his own history with injuries. Anderson missed nine games in 2016 after undergoing surgery to repair a damaged meniscus.
Charles is the NFL’s active leading rusher in terms of yards per carry, but the ACL injuries make him a risk/reward signing for Denver.
“He would be added to the mix as a veteran with upside,” Graziano said, “but obviously can’t count on him to be healthy and productive at this point.”
