Will Jamaal Charles be with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2017?
The question was posed to general manager John Dorsey in his end-of-year press briefing.
"He's working like the dickens to get himself ready for '17. We'll see what happens in March, but right now I see him as a Chief," Dorsey said, per the Kansas City Star's Terez Paylor.
It's a fairly non-committal answer from Dorsey, which is understandable since he doesn't have to make a decision in the short-term.
Charles played only eight games in the past two seasons due to knee injuries and had just 12 carries in 2016. The 30-year-old back has said he wants to remain in Kansas City, but that decision will likely come down to money.
The Chiefs can save more than $6 million in salary-cap space by cutting the veteran. That's a significant amount for a franchise in the bottom three in terms of cap space heading into 2017. There is a chance, if Charles is healthy, the Chiefs could keep their all-time leading rusher in-house on a restructured deal.
Other nuggets from Dorsey:
» The GM said he's had "very positive conversations" with Eric Berry's representatives, per BJ Kissel of the team's official website. Berry said on NFL Network during Super Bowl Week that he won't play under the franchise tag again.
» Dorsey said he believes the Chiefs can keep both free-agents-to-be, Berry and defensive linemen Dontari Poe, despite a tight salary-cap squeeze.
» Dorsey didn't bite on the Tony Romo rumors, noting he can't talk about another team's player. He added of quarterback Alex Smith: "We said all along he is the starter, I don't know what more you want me to say," via ArrowheadPride.com.