Eagles coach Doug Pederson used to be the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator. Jamaal Charles, the Chiefs’ all-time leading rusher, was released by the team on Tuesday. Pederson and Charles spent three seasons together in Kansas City.
The dots are easy to connect. On Wednesday, Pederson indicated that he’s interested in reuniting with Charles in Philadelphia.
“He is a tremendous running back,” Pederson said, per NJ.com. “We’ll grade him like we do every free agent.”
Doug Pederson confirms the speculation on the connection with him and Jamaal Charles is legit. Would explore adding him to Eagles' roster.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 1, 2017
Charles, 30, has appeared in just eight games in the past two seasons because of knee issues. First, he tore his ACL midway through the 2015 season. He then dealt with the effects of that injury during the 2016 season. He finished both seasons on injured reserve.
When healthy, Charles has been a historically great running back. He’s the all-time leader in yards per carry (5.5) among running backs and he leads every Chiefs player with 7,260 rushing yards.
So the question now becomes, can Charles stay healthy? And if he can, will he be as explosive and dynamic as he was before his ACL issues?
Last year, the Eagles relied primarily on Darren Sproles (438 rushing yards) and Ryan Mathews (661 rushing yards). On Wednesday, Pederson confirmed that Sproles will be back in 2017. However, Mathews’ future is still up in the air.
Roseman: Ryan Mathews is healing and is expected to be ready to play. Still under contract. When asked, said can't just cut injured players.
— Dave Zangaro (@DZangaroCSN) March 1, 2017
A Sproles and Charles tandem would be one of the best video game backfields ever assembled, which doesn’t mean much for real life, but it’s still worth noting. It would, however, also be a maddening combination for Fantasy football, given that the two would likely rotate in and out.
Meanwhile, the Eagles still need to address their dearth of quality wide receivers. Alshon Jeffery, who didn’t get franchise tagged by the Bears before Wednesday’s deadline, could help Carson Wentz improve after a bumpy rookie season. The only problem? He’ll likely be expensive.
