Jamaal Charles, the player formerly known as Kansas City Chief No. 25, has goals — lofty goals — and despite missing most of the past two seasons because of injuries, and despite finding a new home amid a crowded running back room in Denver, he still has those goals.
Monday, on Day 7 of the Broncos’ organized team activities (OTAs), he checked a few minor ones off his list. As strength returns to his legs following multiple knee surgeries last year, Charles strapped on a Broncos helmet for the first time and ran through light drills with running backs coach Eric Studesville and the rest of the Broncos backs.
It was progress and any progress is good progress.
Jamaal Charles pic.twitter.com/CSC3m5nla5
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) June 5, 2017
“He came here and his quad was really weak,” Broncos head coach Vance Joseph said. “He’s gotten stronger, he’s running hills, he was with Eric on a couple drills. So he’s getting closer, but his time frame won’t change. He’ll still be ready for training camp.”
Charles is no rush to go all-out. Not yet. Not before training camp and not at the risk of further injuring those legs the Broncos could pay up to $2.5 million to exploit.
“I feel good. I feel like I can do OTAs, but there’s no need to do OTAs,” Charles said. “It’s not like I’m about to go out there and play a game.”
But his role in Denver, as he sees it, is worth more than his one-year price tag.
“I want to come in and compete. Make everybody better, make the running backs better, turn (Devontae) Booker into a Pro Bowl running back when I leave here and turn C.J. (Anderson) into an all-pro,” Charles said. “I want to come here and bring the energy, the experience. I want to come here to show people what I can do. I don’t want to just show up and people are like, ‘Oh, Jamaal’s here.’ No, I want to show up and compete with my teammates and show them that I am good and I’m still at the top of my career.”
Charles, the league’s all-time leader among running backs in yards per carry at 5.5, is out to show he’s still that guy who ran for more than 1,000 yards in five seasons and topped 1,500 yards in 2012. He’s out to show he’s still that guy that tied Marshawn Lynch for the most rushing touchdowns (12) in 2013.
“It is important to me,” he said. “When I left Kansas City, I was still at the top. It was just the injury. You can’t really control injuries. You just wish for good luck.”
Since 2011, Charles has torn the ACL in both knees. Last November, he underwent two procedures, the first to trim meniscus in his right knee and the second to clean out his left knee, and over the last two seasons, he’s played only eight games. The Chiefs released him in late February and he sat on the open market for more than two months before the Broncos signed him in early May.
A month has passed since Charles swapped the red-and-white 25 for the orange-and-blue 28. But Charles insists he’s only looking forward.
“It’s a business,” he said. “I’m excited to be a Bronco. I’ve been wanting to be a Bronco since I was a kid, when I looked up to John Elway and saw how he carried his team with Terrell Davis at running back. That inspired me as a little kid.”
His arrival, though, immediately raised questions about not only his role in Mike McCoy’s offense, but also the divvying of reps among Anderson, second-year back Booker and drafted rookie De’Angelo Henderson.
And until Charles returns to full strength and can show his true physical status, the questions may linger. But as he works his way back to the field, Charles said his M.O. hasn’t changed. He came here to compete and to make the Broncos better on the ground overall. He came here to mentor the younger players and push the veterans.
But he also came to get his.
“Why not think I’m going to be the man? You think I’m just going to come up here and (pauses)? No, that’s never been me in my whole life,” he said. “My whole life, I’m always going to feel like I’m going to be the man. That’s why I wanted to come here. If I’m not going to be the man, why am I here? I should be at home and sitting on the couch.”
