Kansas City Chiefs

Chiefs' Andy Reid unsure if Jamaal Charles will be ready for Week 1

Published Nov. 15, 2016 2:24 p.m. ET

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Cameron DaSilva

The Kansas City Chiefs will be without one of their best defensive players to start the season, and they’ll likely be without their offensive star, too.

Head coach Andy Reid said on Friday that running back Jamaal Charles may not be ready for the team’s season opener against the San Diego Chargers.

"I think Jamaal is going to need a little time to keep working to get himself back,” he said via ESPN. “We'll see how he does after a couple of days off."

Charles is recovering from a torn ACL that ended his 2015 season prematurely. He was activated off the PUP list on Aug. 16 but the Chiefs are understandably taking it slow with their stud running back.

As a result, it’ll likely be Spencer Ware and Charcandrick West leading the backfield as they did when Charles went down last season. With the way that duo ran in 2015 — combining for 1,037 yards — there’s little reason for the Chiefs to rush Charles back, particularly when considering his injury history.

Charles wasn’t the only player Reid addressed on Friday. He also said Eric Berry should be ready to go after his lengthy camp holdout. Tamba Hali is ahead of Charles in his recovery from a knee injury, but Reid didn’t say if he'll be ready for Week 1.

The Chiefs may be forced to overcome several key absences early in the season, but they've done it before and have the talent to get by.

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