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July 27, 2005
Patriots Release Former Herd Running Back Earl Charles
By Grant Traylor
Huntington News Network Sportswriter
Foxboro, MA (HNN) ---Former Marshall running back Earl Charles was released
from the New England Patriots on Saturday, July 23, 2005.
Charles was the second Marshall player on the New England roster, joining
1992 graduate Troy Brown.
Coming up on the first mini-camp of the year, Charles was hoping to secure a
spot on the Patriots 2005 squad backing up star running back Corey Dillon.
However, New England had six running backs heading into camp with Dillon as
their uncontested starter. Kevin Faulk will be in the second slot primarily
appearing as a third down running back.
Former Arkansas star Cedric Cobbs would have the edge for the third and most
likely final slot at running back over Jacksonville State's Kory Chapman,
followed by Charles and DeCori Birmingham.
However, those chances took a deep hit when the Patriots signed free agent
running back/return specialist Chad Morton from Washington.
Morton will likely land a spot due to his special teams ability, although it
is unclear if he will be listed on the active roster as a return specialist
or running back.
Either way, the addition of Morton took away a roster slot and bumping
Chapman down to the front-runner slot for the practice squad running back.
Needing to downsize, the Patriots cut Birmingham Friday, July 22, 2005
before letting Charles loose on Saturday.
Charles is now free to negotiate with any team that expresses interest,
which might prove to be a valuable commodity as teams assess their needs in
mini-camp.
Charles rushed for 1,844 yards in two seasons with the Thundering Herd.
After rushing for 1,039 yards and 12 touchdowns in his junior year, Charles
was named to the Doak Walker Award Watch List for 2004.
However, nagging injuries slowed his performance during his senior season
and he finished the year with 805 yards on 178 carries with five touchdowns.
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