Jamaal Charles Injury Could Signal End of an Era for Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs didn't just lose a battle with the Chicago Bears on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium, but with star running back Jamaal Charles suffering what appears to be a season-ending knee injury, the Chiefs might also have lost the war. 

The team has confirmed, after initial reports following the heartbreaking 18-17 loss, that Charles did indeed tear his right ACL in the third quarter, which will almost certainly spell an early end to the perennial Pro Bowler's eighth NFL season. 

And considering Charles is by far the most electric player on an offense that lacks electricity, that would also spoil any hope the Chiefs might be able to fight back from a 1-4 start in the tough AFC West. 

Charles wasn't just the best thing the Chiefs had going on offense, but he was pretty close to the only thing they had going for them on that side of the ball. 

Checkdown-happy quarterback Alex Smith, who completed just 16-of-30 passes for 181 yards in Sunday's loss, has clear limitations, and top receiving options Jeremy Maclin and Travis Kelce are supposed to be key cogs but aren't the types of players who can carry an offense. 

And while these types of situations can sometimes give life to backup running backs who shock the world, the Chiefs might not want to get their hopes up on Charcandrick West and Knile Davis, who had just 33 yards on nine carries in relief of the star on Sunday. West was undrafted out of Abilene Christian last year, while Davis has averaged just 3.4 yards per carry three years into his career. 

Meanwhile, Charles entered Sunday's game averaging 5.2 yards per rushing attempt, which ranked second in football among 21 backs with at least 50 carries in the first four weeks. 

Back	Average	Starts	Carries
1. Jamaal Charles	5.2	4	59
2. Adrian Peterson	5.0	4	75
2. Chris Ivory	5.0	3	63
4. Dion Lewis	4.9	3	30
5. DeAngelo Williams	4.8	3	44

And that was no aberration.

If we're rounding to the nearest 10th, not once in his career has he averaged fewer than 5.0 yards per rush. And he, Jim Brown and Barry Sanders are the only backs in NFL history to average at least 4.9 yards per attempt on at least 150 carries in five separate seasons. 

Back	Total
1. Jamaal Charles	5
1. Jim Brown	5
1. Barry Sanders	5
4. James Brooks	4
5. Tiki Barber	3

The short-term problem is without Charles, it'll be nearly impossible for the Chiefs to dig themselves out of a huge early-season hole. Not only did they just lose in somewhat embarrassing fashion at home to a Bears team that was 1-3 and had lost five straight road games, but now the last-place Chiefs have to travel—sans Charles—to Minnesota to play the well-rested Vikings. 

I know we're talking about two different teams led by different head coaches and quarterbacks, but the 2011 Chiefs didn't have Charles for virtually the entire season after he tore the ACL in his left knee, and that team averaged an AFC-low 13.2 points per game. 

You never give up in October, but for all intents and purposes, this season is over. 

The macro problem is that Charles is now unlikely to play another football game until he's just a few months removed from his 30th birthday, which is typically a death knell for NFL running backs. And dating back three seasons and change, very few backs have been put to work as hard as Charles has. 

Back	Touches
1. Matt Forte	1,120
2. Marshawn Lynch	1,039
3. LeSean McCoy	1,010
4. Alfred Morris	983
5. Jamaal Charles	974
6. DeMarco Murray	954
7. Frank Gore	929
8. Chris Johnson	884

None of the backs on that list are in particularly good shape right now, which doesn't bode well for Charles' chances of coming back from a second torn ACL in half a decade and getting these Chiefs back on track.

And considering the Chiefs A) haven't won a playoff game during Charles' tenure and B) have gone just 23-30 with only one playoff appearance in the three-plus seasons that have elapsed since Charles returned from that original knee injury, it's fair to wonder if there's much hope for this franchise in 2016 regardless of his ability to return to form. 

The reality is the Chiefs may have to consider taking steps to rebuild over the next 10 or 11 months. I know that's a dirty word in our sports landscape, but in the parity-drenched NFL, rebuilding doesn't always mean multiple years of torturous growing pains.  

The Chiefs have to take this opportunity to ask themselves if head coach Andy Reid—who hasn't coached a team to a playoff victory since 2008—is the right man to run the roster during what is bound to be a rocky stretch. And if they do indeed finish well below .500 this season and aren't convinced Reid can be the savior, it'll be time to move on. 

And they should take a similar approach with Smith, who is in the midst of another unspectacular season with a sub-90.0 passer rating. He's good, not great. Reliable, not remarkable. And in an era in which you simply can't win consistently without a truly exceptional quarterback (look at the last 12 Super Bowl champions), it might be time for the Chiefs to swing the bat on a blue-chip quarterback prospect. 

Smith's silly contract—a four-year, $68 million deal he signed last year—will almost certainly keep him on the Kansas City roster through the 2016 season, but that doesn't mean the Chiefs can't consider taking advantage of what looks to be a deep quarterback class in the 2016 draft. 

There's no reason a young gun can't hold a clipboard for a year or two, and a 30-something-year-old Smith would likely be a hell of a mentor in his 12th and/or 13th season. 

By no means do the Chiefs have to gut the entire roster, but nobody—aside from maybe Kelce and stud pass-rusher Justin Houston—should be safe, including general manager John Dorsey. If questionable top 2013 and 2014 draft picks Eric Fisher and Dee Ford continue down paths toward the land of busts and the highly paid Maclin can't turn into an elite receiver, it'll be tough to defend Dorsey beyond this season. 

So while they'll still have to play out the final 11 games of 2015, the Chiefs would be well-served to start thinking proactively about what this team might look like beyond this year.

Because there's a good chance Charles won't ever get it back and an even better chance they'll fail to contend regardless. 

Brad Gagnon has covered the NFL for Bleacher Report since 2012.