Jamaal Charles Injury Update: Chiefs RB Discusses Injured Knee and Future

Following a regular season that saw him miss all but three games due to a knee injury, Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles provided an update on his health in an open letter on his website Monday. 

Charles—who has twice torn his ACL during his NFL career—revealed he suffered a torn meniscus and elected to undergo surgery.

The 30-year-old veteran downplayed the notion he came back from tearing his ACL too quickly and said his latest injury occurred while putting in extra work after practice rather than during a game:

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There's been speculation that I tried to come back too quick, or that I wasn't ready, but I honestly don't think me coming back to play is what caused this to happen. I think, if anything, I was doing too much extra work on top of what I was doing with the team and the trainers.

Everybody was questioning me, talking about what I should be doing, and asking "Why doesn't Jamaal look like this coming back from surgery, why does he look like that?" But at the end of the day, you have to be true to who you are instead of listening to the outside voices and trying to follow everybody else's advice. Everybody is trying to diagnose the body, but nobody knows the body better than God. Man didn't make the body. God did.

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Charles said he tried to play through the ailment, but when his leg locked up while playing with his daughter, he knew he needed to get it checked out.

Dr. James Andrews diagnosed the meniscus tear, and with the blessing of the Chiefs, Charles decided to undergo surgery in addition to getting his other knee cleaned out, which led to him being placed on injured reserve.

While Charles is unsure of how his career will unfold from here, he made it clear he wants to continue playing:

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I honestly don't know what the future holds for me. I know it's God's will and God's purpose to determine what's next for me. I'm just thankful. I'm thankful for my friends and my family, and the people that surround me and support me through these humbling experiences. This is another crisis, another time falling down, but I know I'll always get back up. …

What I do know is that I still want to play football. I was only 29 years old this season. My goal right now is to just focus on the now and my rehab and let the rest sort itself out later.

"

The four-time Pro Bowler hasn't played in more than five games in a single season since 2014, when he rushed for 1,033 yards and scored 14 total touchdowns.

Per Spotrac, he is under contract for one more season, which gives the Chiefs some incentive to let the rehab process play out and keep him in the fold.

Spencer Ware replaced Charles this season, and he rushed for 921 yards and did a capable job in his absence.

He doesn't have the same explosiveness as a healthy Charles, however, and there is little doubt that Charles could add another dimension to a team that seized the AFC's No. 2 seed in 2016 if he can get past his most recent ailment.

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