Jamaal Charles tenure with the Kansas City Chiefs is coming to an end after 9 seasons.

The Chiefs announced in a statement today that they released Charles to free up $7 million in cap space to help them compensate for the new contracts they will be dishing out this spring, while also easing the logjam they currently have at running back.

“I have a great deal of admiration for Jamaal Charles, his toughness, and what he’s been able to achieve in his time in Kansas City,” Chiefs general manager John Dorsey said in a statement. “These decisions are never easy, but we felt it was in the best interests of the club to move on at this time. We wish Jamaal and his family the best of luck in their next step.”

Kansas City now has Spencer Ware, Charcandrick West, and the recently signed C.J. Spiller at running back following the release of Charles. 2017 NFL free agency marks the first time in his NFL career that Charles will be a free agent, and the type of contract he gets should be interesting to see.

Charles has struggled over the last two seasons staying healthy, dealing with knees injuries that cut his seasons short. Ware, West, and Spiller have had their own injury situations in the past, but they have proven to be more durable than Charles, who many expect to take a steep decline in his age 30 season in 2017.

There will be a lot of suitors for Charles, but there hasn’t been any reported suitors yet, just speculation. The list of suitors for Charles will be visibly similar to Adrian Peterson‘s, who is also a recent addition to the free agent running back market that includes Eddie Lacy, Danny Woodhead, Latavius Murray, Rashad Jennings, Chris Jonhnson, Reggie Bush, and others.

In his Chiefs tenure, Charles passed Priest Holmes as the team’s all-time leading rusher finishing with 7,260 yards on 1,332 attempts. His 63 career touchdowns came via 43 rushing touchdowns and 20 receiving touchdowns, as he was a dual threat running, and catching the ball.

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