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If you missed the news this morning, Adrian Peterson is having surgery on his knee that will keep him out several months. I haven’t heard anyone say he’s definitely done for the season but it appears it’s close to that.
I saw this tweet from MDS over at Pro Football Talk and it made me think of Jamaal Charles.
Adrian Peterson's last 8 games: 144 carries, 416 yards, 2.89 yards per carry, 3 TD. He's old. Now he's injured. He's done as a high-level RB
— Michael David Smith (@MichaelDavSmith) September 21, 2016
He’s probably right. It’s not likely that AP, 32, is going to come back and be a lot better, right? Sure, it could happen but we’ve seen too many backs at his age decline.
Frankly, I’m surprised his decline didn’t start earlier. Jamaal Charles is right around that age when you start to wonder. He’ll turn 30 years old in December. He’s coming off of his second ACL surgery. It’s been almost a year since he played. It’s certainly fair to wonder how much time he has left.
We’re going to find that out this weekend if Jamaal is active. I doubt the Chiefs give him 15-20 touches and really test him. If he plays, I would bet he gets a handful of touches to ease him back in depending on how the game goes.
But how much longer beyond this weekend for Jamaal? It’s hard to answer that without knowing if he’s even back from this knee surgery. Andy Reid indicated he looks like the same guy. As long as he stays healthy - always the big question mark - I could see Jamaal playing at a high level this season and perhaps next. After that? It’s hard to bet on that. It’s hard to even commit to him being a high level player next year without seeing him this year first.