Chiefs coach Andy Reid evaluates Jamaal Charles’ 2016 debut

Jamaal Charles played 10 snaps and touched the ball twice in the Chiefs’ 43-14 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, his first game action in 12 months following ACL surgery.

On Monday, Chiefs coach Andy Reid was asked if Charles seemed “OK” to him.

“I thought he was, early,” Reid said, alluding to the one snap Charles played in the second half. “He had to sit around for a while and I don’t think that’s going to work into the equation … we had to put him in there for one snap (in the fourth quarter) because we were out of backs and he was the only guy that could fill in the position.”

Charles said after that game that Charcandrick West’s ankle injury sped up his recovery timetable a bit, as he was slated to make his 2016 debut against the Oakland Raiders in week six.

When asked if Charles will continue to see more of a workload against the Raiders — starter Spencer Ware received far more snaps (54) and touches (14) on Sunday — Reid played coy.

“You have to play it by ear and see how he’s feeling,” Reid said. “We’ve got 12 games to figure that out.”

But while Reid was skimpy with the details on Charles’ future usage, Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith was optimistic about the star back’s potential to help the club after the game.

“He’s a unique player with a tremendous skill set,” Smith said. “So obviously, to get him back in the mix and get him working in more and more will only help us.”

This story was originally published October 3, 2016 at 6:35 PM with the headline "Chiefs coach Andy Reid evaluates Jamaal Charles’ 2016 debut."