Kansas City Chiefs

Jamaal Charles might not be ready Week 1

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

The Kansas City Chiefs are heading into Week 1, but might be without their All-Pro running back.

After Jamaal Charles was activated off the Physically Unable to Perform list, most assumed that he would be ready to roll for Week 1 of the regular season. While Charles has talked about being full-go in press conferences, head coach Andy Reid has put some cold water on that.

According to a team release, Reid stated that Charles is behind both strong safety Eric Berry and outside linebacker Tamba Hali in terms of his availability. Charles tore his ACL in Week 5 of last year against the Chicago Bears, and apparently might be slow in coming back. Reid didn’t rule Charles out for the Sept. 11 contest against the San Diego Chargers at Arrowhead Stadium, but it certainly didn’t sound like a ringing endorsement.

If Charles is not 100 percent, he should not play against the Chargers. You never want to take a team likely, but at the same point, Kansas City should be able to beat San Diego with him on the bench. The Chiefs won both games against the Chargers last year with Charles on the shelf, and with the combination of Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware, they should be alright.

So how long will Charles be out (if at all)? Well, the Chiefs obviously believe he will be here shortly, or they would have put him on the PUP list. This is true especially once you consider how hard the cuts are going to be at running back.