I’ve spent this entire offseason worrying very little about the status of Jamaal Charles, who is coming back from a torn ACL last October. I just assumed Jamaal would come back as Jamaal and all would be normal.
Except maybe it’s not. Jamaal Charles returned to camp about midway through although he didn’t participate in any contact drills. He also didn’t participate in the preseason at all.
Then there’s our chat with Andy Reid today. The Chiefs coach told the media in a conference call that Jamaal may need some more time and said “we’ll see” how he does this week regarding his chances of playing Week 1.
After listening to Reid, who didn’t say definitively whether Jamaal would be ready Week 1 or not, I would predict that he’s not playing. Reid didn’t sound confident in Jamaal being ready. He said that Eric Berry would play and that Tamba Hali is behind Berry and that Jamaal is behind both of them.
So that’s a little concerning. They do have backups to handle it better than most but the Chiefs offense can’t hit its ceiling without Jamaal.
UPDATE: Here’s the exchange with Andy:
Q: Do you have a plan for this weekend with Jamaal Charles, Eric Berry, and Tamba Hali?
REID: “I would tell you that, in that order, Eric Berry would be ready to go, Tamba second and Jamaal might need some more time to get himself back.”
Q: So you don’t see [Jamaal] playing against the Chargers?
REID: “I’m not saying that, but of the three, he’s the furthest away. We’ll see how he does after a couple days off here.”