Jamaal Charles not the full-time featured back for Chiefs yet

It remains to be seen how much work Jamaal Charles will get in the Chiefs offense during the early portion of the season.

Week 1 in the NFL is right around the corner, but Adam Teicher for ESPN.com reports Charles is still being brought along slowly. In fact, Spencer Ware is getting the bulk of the reps at running back in the first-team offense, followed by Charcandrick West. “Sometimes” Charles will get in with the starters.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid doesn’t feel a sense of urgency to get his Pro Bowl back in a full-time role either. In fact, he sounds perfectly comfortable with the idea that Ware or West will accept some of the workload, at least for now.

“For Jamaal, it’s [a matter of] getting trust in the leg,’’ Reid said. “Every day he does a little but more and a little bit more and his cuts are a little bit sharper. It’s just a matter of time and we’re OK there. We’re OK with that.’’

Charles sustained a torn ACL for the second time last season, but in 2012, he was back to his usual self by now. This time, the 29-year-old wasn’t ready for the start or training camp and has yet to so much as appear in a preseason game.

A reduced workload may be best for Charles at this point in his career anyway, as much as fantasy football owners may not want to hear that. Then again, there’s no telling whether he’ll be the same anyway seeing as we haven’t had a chance to watch him play.

The good news for the Chiefs is they do have other quality options to tote the rock. On the other hand, none of those options are as good as a healthy, in-his prime Charles.