Jamaal Charles Probably Won't Make the NFL Hall of Fame

Jamaal Charles told TMZ he deserves to be in the NFL Hall of Fame. While he has an argument based on his greatness during a five-year run, injuries ultimately derailed his career and likely any chance of making the HOF.

Charles played 11 seasons in the NFL, which is a pretty long career for a running back. Unfortunately, six of those seasons were basically throwaways.

He finished his career with 7,563 rushing yards and 44 TDs and also had 2,593 receiving yards with 20 TDs. The biggest issue/impressive note is nearly 3,000 of those rushing yards came in two seasons (2010 and 2012) and 33 of those 64 TDs came in two other seasons (2013 and 2014). He had three other 1000-yard rushing seasons, but also had six seasons with under 400 rushing yards.

There are only 28 running backs enshrined in the Hall of Fame and some major names like Roger Craig (over 13,000 total yards and 73 TDs), Otis Anderson (over 10,000 rushing yards and 86 TDs) and Ricky Watters (over 14,000 total yards and 91 TDs) are not among them. They all have better numbers than Charles. Watters and Anderson also were huge parts of Super Bowl-winning teams.

While Charles was outstanding during the height of his career, the NFL Hall of Fame is reserved for players who transcend time. Charles was among the best running backs in the NFL from 2009-2014, and might have been the best in 2013, but five seasons of greatness isn’t enough for a gold jacket. Otherwise Mike Vick would be in there too.