By Jordan Long
On Tuesday, the Denver Broncos added depth to their running back core, signing Jamaal Charles. The deal is for one year with a base salary of $900,000, but has incentives giving him a chance to earn up to $3.75 million.
Charles is entering his 10th NFL season, originally drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs and spent 9 years there. Charles was a free agent after Kansas City decided to cut him on February 28th. The Denver Broncos now have a running back who has speed; one cut and Charles is gone. Opposing defenses have trouble tackling him in the open field. In a Chiefs’ uniform, Charles ran for 7,260 yards and 43 touchdowns. His average yards per rush is an impressive 5.5 yards. Not only can he run the football, Charles can catch passes out in the open field with a total of 2,457 receiving yards.
Charles will improve the Broncos’ running game. Denver will have C.J. Anderson as the number one running back. When the Broncos need a change of pace running back, Charles will come into the game. Denver’s running game won’t miss a beat. They can also mix in second year running back Devontae Booker.
It all sounds like a decent deal on paper. The downside of this move is that Charles has only appeared in 8 games the past 2 seasons. In 2015, he tore his ACL in his right knee forcing him to miss 11 games. Charles was still productive with 364 rushing yards. Last year he suited up in 3 games because he needed a second surgery on his right knee.
This is a low risk, high reward move. Denver isn’t paying Charles that much to be a backup running back. If he proves he is healthy and enhances the running game, Charles is well worth the risk.
What do you think of the Denver Broncos adding Jamaal Charles?
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