Chiefs’ Jamaal Charles strains foot
The Kansas City Chiefs (and fantasy football players nationwide) can exhale.
Star running back Jamaal Charles was driven off the Chiefs’ practice field Monday morning, but X-rays revealed no serious damage, head coach Andy Reid told reporters in St. Joseph, Mo. The injury to Charles’ foot is being treated as a sprain.
Charles rushed for 1.509 yards last year after missing almost all of the 2011 season with a torn ACL. He has three 1.000-yard seasons in the last four years.
Charles was participating in an 11-on-11 portion of practice pitting the No. 1 offense against the top defense when he walked off the field and spent a moment speaking with trainers. He climbed into a cart and was driven up a long hillside to the locker room.
“We’ll just see how he does. Precautionary measures” – Reid said. “We’ll see how he does here in the next little bit – see where he’s at as far as pain or swelling. We’ll see how he does.”
Reid wouldn’t say for sure whether Charles will play Friday night against San Francisco.
“If he’s ready to go” – Reid said, “he’ll play.”
Charles missed nearly an entire season two years ago with a torn ACL in his left knee. He hasn’t been injury prone since joining the Chiefs, but not even Charles was sure whether he’d be the same player once he made it back from the left knee injury. He wound up running for at least 100 yards seven times in 2012, and more than 200 yards twice.
Charles was injured early in the team portion of practice. He went to the sideline, talked with team trainers and then was examined by doctors in the medical tent adjacent to the practice fields.
Soon after Charles was taken from the field in a motorized cart.
Most of the snaps that would have gone to Charles instead were given to rookie Knile Davis. Some went to Shaun Draughn.
“It was good work for Knile today, if you want to take a positive out of it” – Reid said. “Draughn got some good work. It gives the others guys an opportunity to practice. That’s how I look at it. Knile, our young running back, got good quality work with the (starters).”
Davis said he was comfortable with everything in the Chiefs’ playbook. But on one play shortly after Charles departed, Davis lined up in the wrong spot, forcing a brief interruption in practice.
“Everything is happening fast, especially when we’re on a fast pace” – Davis said.