Chiefs Beat: RB Jamaal Charles won't immediately be feature back upon return

Sep 27, 2016

The plan with Jamaal Charles during much of the offseason, when the Chiefs thought he would be ready to play at the start of the regular season, was to install him as the full-time featured back.

That still could happen at some point during the season, once the Chiefs are convinced he’s the same player he was before the injury and ready for a big workload.

But it won’t happen immediately after his return. That would go against every cautious move the Chiefs have made with him. It would also ignore the contributions the Chiefs have received from their two other backs. That’s particularly true for Spencer Ware, who is averaging 4.9 yards per carry and is second on the Chiefs in receiving yards.

Related players: Charcandrick West

Fantasy Impact:

Both Ware and Charcandrick West are proven NFL backs now, seeing plenty of time the last two seasons. If Charles comes back this week, or whichever week, one has to assume he'll be eased back into action. The story suggested there will be some kind of rotation that would involve Ware over West since Ware is more of a change of pace to Charles.

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Chargers set to open window for RB J.K. Dobbins (knee)

Daniel Popper on X

0 minutes ago

Chargers will be opening J.K. Dobbins' 21-day window today, Jim Harbaugh tells reporters.

Related players: Gus Edwards

Fantasy Impact:

Dobbins has been on IR for the past four games with a knee injury. He's not a lock to play this week and he's not a lock for a safe workload even if he does play. The Chargers travel to New England in Week 17, so the matchup isn't a bad one. It's an early window game on Sunday, so owners should have plenty of notice. We'll also keep an eye on the practice reports this week.

Dolphins unsure of WR Jaylen Waddle's (knee) status for Week 17

Barry Jackson on X

5 minutes ago

McDaniel non-committal on whether Jaylen Waddle (knee) will practice this week: "I'm expecting to get everything from Waddle that he can do... I've [talked to] the trainer to make sure we protect him from himself. We will see how the week progresses. I don't know exactly what it will look like."

Fantasy Impact:

Waddle owners should probably not count on Waddle for Week 17, or at the very least have a backup plan. Waddle and the Dolphins play the Browns in the later window on Sunday so it could further complicate things for owners who were hoping to play him.

Texans WR Tank Dell tore ACL, dislocated knee

DJ Bien-Aime on X

9 minutes ago

DeMeco Ryans says WR Tank Dell tore his ACL along with dislocating his knee.

Fantasy Impact:

No surprises here as it was a terrible injury to watch during the game. While he's obviously out for the season, the bigger question is what will his status be for 2025. It's a huge question mark at this point given the seriousness of the injury. Even if Dell is able to play next season, he may take a while to get back to 100%.