Report: Charles to retire after signing with Chiefs
Running back Jamaal Charles is set to announce his retirement from the NFL after 11 seasons and sign a one-day contract with the Kansas City Chiefs to retire with the franchise, 610 Sports Radio reported Tuesday.
Former Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles will retire with the highest yards per carry average in NFL history (minimum 1,000 rushing attempts).
Charles, 32, played nine seasons for the Chiefs after being selected in the third round (73rd overall) of the 2008 NFL draft and was a four-time Pro Bowl selection and two-time first-team All-Pro with Kansas City. He is the franchise’s all-time leading rusher with 7,260 yards.
Kansas City released him in February 2017 and he played for the Denver Broncos (in 2017, appearing in 14 games) and Jacksonville Jaguars (2018, for two games) the past two seasons, rushing for 303 yards on just 75 carries.
He finishes his career with 7,563 yards, 56th on the NFL’s all-time rushing list. His career average of 5.4 yards per carry is ranked first all-time among rushers with at least 1,000 carries.
Charles twice had to overcome ACL injuries, in 2011 and 2015, missing 14 games in ’11 and 24 games in ’15 and ’16 combined. He bounced back nicely after the first ACL injury, setting his career high with 1,509 rushing yards in 2012. In 2013 he set his career high in touchdowns with 19 (12 rushing and seven receiving).
However, he was unable to fully rebound from his second ACL injury. He played just three games in the ’16 season before being placed on injured reserve with knee soreness and later undergoing arthroscopic surgery.