NFL: Charles reportedly to retire as Chief

Published 1:15 pm Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Jamaal Charles will retire as a Kansas City Chief, according to a tweet from a Kansas City, Missouri, radio station.

KCSP-AM (610 Sports Radio) first reported the upcoming retirement, which is expected to take place Wednesday in Kansas City with a ceremonial signing of a one-day contract with the Chiefs. Charles could not be immediately reached for comment.

Charles, a Port Arthur native who graduated from Memorial High School in 2005, spent the first nine of his 11 NFL seasons with the Chiefs, where he was selected to four Pro Bowls and was twice named first-team All-Pro. Charles is the franchise’s all-time leading rusher with 7,260 yards to go with 43 touchdowns on 1,332 carries.

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What has made Charles’ career stand out is the yardage per attempt. His 5.4 yards per carry for his career ranks first among active players, first among players with a minimum of 1,000 attempts and fourth all-time (Michael Vick 7.0, Randall Cunningham 6.4 and Marion Motley 5.7). Charles ran for 5 or more yards in his first eight years (rushed for 6.4 in 2010 and 6.9 in 2011).

Charles has 7,563 career yards rushing, fifth among active players and 56th all-time. He is 44 yards behind Hall of Famer Terrell Davis, who spent seven years with the Denver Broncos.

Knee injuries during his last two seasons led to Charles’ release from Kansas City following the 2016 season, with the AFC West rival Broncos picking him up for 2017. Charles was released after playing 14 games with the Broncos and was considering retirement when the Jacksonville Jaguars picked him up in October 2018.

Both of his games with the Jaguars came against Texas teams; he carried five times for 5 yards in a loss to the Dallas Cowboys and carried once for 2 yards in a loss to the Houston Texans.

Charles is a member of just the third Memorial senior class in history along with 2016 Olympic high jumper Inika McPherson and won state championships in the 110-meter hurdles and 300-meter hurdles in 2005.

He won a football national championship with the University of Texas as a freshman and, after two 800-plus yard seasons, turned in 1,619 yards and 18 touchdowns on 258 attempts as a junior before putting his name in the NFL Draft. Charles ran for 36 TDs as a Longhorn.

As a freshman, Charles won the Big 12 outdoor 100-meter dash and won four All-America accolades in the NCAA Championships.

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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