Do the Chiefs believe Jamaal Charles could return this year? The Chiefs haven’t said he could ... but they haven’t said he can’t either. That the Chiefs haven’t completely shut down the idea of him returning this year makes me think they believe it’s at least a possibility.
There’s more to this than just the one ACL. Jamaal had pain in his other knee too. He underwent ACL surgery on that one five years ago. He visited Dr. James Andrews this week and he decided to do what the Chiefs called exploratory surgery.
“It’s thought that he might have a meniscus tear in that knee,” Chiefs trainer Rick Burkholder said on Wednesday. “He had some damage in that meniscus before, and Dr. Andrews wants to see whether it has a little flap in it or something that’s causing his discomfort.”
The Chiefs said Wednesday they would know more after the surgery that afternoon. Apparently Ian Rapoport was in on that because he has this:
#KCChiefs RB Jamaal Charles' knee surgery today went as well as expected, I'm told. So much so, there is a shot to come back this year.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 2, 2016
It was going to be called a successful surgery either way. I want to see how Jamaal responds to this and how the Chiefs are treating this as the weeks go on. Do they leave the door open for him to return? Is it a long shot?
Per the new IR rules, one player can return to practice six weeks after being on IR and can be activated for a game after eight weeks.