Charles: Broncos ‘might as well’ release him

Published 4:22 pm Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Already eliminated from the playoffs, the Denver Broncos decided to give rookie running back De’Angelo Henderson some carries Sunday instead of backup Jamaal Charles.

So Charles, the 10th-year NFL veteran from Port Arthur, has indicated the team may as well release him so he can have a chance to be picked up by a team that’s going to the playoffs.

“I ain’t playing. Might as well,” Charles told the Denver Post in an online story posted Tuesday. “No reason for me to just sit around and look at people play. It is what it is. I’m still going to be supportive of everyone on the team no matter what. I mean, they got my rights right now.”

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Charles, who turns 31 Wednesday, made headlines during the previous offseason when the Kansas City Chiefs, who drafted him in 2008, cut him after nine seasons and was picked up by their AFC West rivals. But through 14 games, Charles has not even matched his productivity through five games of the 2015 season in Kansas City when a torn ACL against the Bears ended his season.

Charles has 296 yards on 69 carries, an average of 4.3 yards per carry, and a touchdown this season, and he’s caught 23 passes for 129 yards. He had 364 rushing yards and 177 receiving yards through five games two years ago, but continued problems with his knee limited him to 40 rushing and 14 receiving yards through three games in 2016, leading to the Chiefs’ releasing him.

His best game with Denver came on Sept. 24 against Buffalo, when he ran nine times for 56 yards and his only touchdown this season. He caught three passes for 12 yards against the New York Jets on Dec. 10, but has not carried the ball in Denver’s last three games, sitting out Sunday’s 27-11 loss at the Washington Redskins.

Henderson, the former Coastal Carolina All-American, had one carry for minus-3 yards, playing behind C.J. Anderson and Devontae Booker.

“I thought we were all going to get a chance to share the ball,” he told the Post. “I never got a chance to be in the first 15 [games], and it sucks. How the other running backs — like I look around and see the Patriots share the running backs, and New Orleans. You know what I’m saying? I just never got an opportunity.”

Denver (5-10) will conclude the season at home against the Chiefs this Sunday.

Charles has 7,556 career rushing yards and 44 touchdowns. His 5.4 yards per carry for his career leads all active players and ranks him fourth all-time, behind Michael Vick, Randall Cunningham and Marion Motley.

Charles graduated from Memorial High in 2005 and won a national championship that following season at the University of Texas. He signed a one-year deal with the Broncos on May 2 for up to $3.75 million, according to reports.

The Post reported Charles would miss out on a $100,000 bonus for reaching 500 scrimmage yards on the season if he misses Sunday’s game. He told the newspaper he feels healthy.

I.C. Murrell: 721-2435. Twitter: @ICMurrellPANews

About I.C. Murrell

I.C. Murrell was promoted to editor of The News, effective Oct. 14, 2019. He previously served as sports editor since August 2015 and has won or shared eight first-place awards from state newspaper associations and corporations. He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, grew up mostly in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and graduated from the University of Arkansas at Monticello.

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