Raiders Charlie Garner Had an Impact for a Short Time

The Las Vegas Raiders history is full of star running backs, and Charlie Garner is a name that is often overlooked.

The Las Vegas-Oakland-Los Angeles Raiders have had some outstanding running backs during their 63 years of existence, from Clem Daniels to Marcus Allen to Napoleon Kaufman to Josh Jacobs these days.

Dual-threat Charlie Garner might rank with them had he played more than three seasons with the Silver and Black.

As a senior at J.E.B. Stuart High in Falls Church, Va., Garner rushed for more than 2,000 yards and 28 touchdowns and was selected as Virginia’s Player of the Year while being projected as the future star he turned out to be.

The 5-10. 190-pound Garner was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round (No. 42 overall) in the 1994 National Football League Draft after rushing for 2,089 yards and 10 touchdowns in his last two seasons at Tennessee while splitting playing time with James Stewart at halfback.

Garner played five seasons with the Eagles before moving on to the San Francisco 49ers, where he rushed for 1,129 yards and four touchdowns while making 56 receptions for 535 yards and two scores in 1999 before running for 1,142 yards and seven touchdowns while catching 68 passes for 647 yards and three scores while being selected to the Pro Bowl a season later.

Somehow, that wasn’t good enough for the 49ers, and Garner moved on to the Raiders in 2001 and signed a four-year contract.

“In the good old days when NFL scouting was more of a hit-or-miss matter, Charlie Garner might have excited you more than he seems to now,” Ray Ratto wrote for the San Francisco Examiner after the 49ers let him go.

Said Garner at his signing with Oakland: “I always had the Raiders in mind.”

Garner rushed for 839 yards and a touchdown while catching 72 passes for 578 yards and two scores in his first year as a starter with the Raiders. The following season ran for 962 yards and seven scores while catching 91 passes for 941 yards and four scores while helping the Raiders reach Super Bowl XXXVII, where they were routed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 48-21, at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.

“Garner is an outstanding football player, a very productive back,” Coach Jon Gruden said in 2001. “He’s versatile and tough. He can play here, there, and anywhere on the football field.”

Wrote Gregg Bell in the Sacramento Bee: “Charlie Garner might be the most indispensable, invaluable—yet often invisible—Raider.”

It wasn’t quite as good the following season, as Garner rushed for 553 yards and three touchdowns and caught 48 passes for 386 yards and a score, giving him 2,354 yards rushing to rank 18th all-time in Raiders history, and he caught 48 passes for 386 yards and another TD.

However, the Raiders went 4-12, and Garner moved on to the Buccaneers for the final season of his career.

Garner is not doing so well these days.

Doctors told Garner in 2017 that he probably suffers from CTE, like many former NFL players. He was diagnosed with two concussions during his NFL career, but he estimates he suffered “at least a dozen" concussions over 11 years.

“I don’t have all my faculties anymore," Garner told the Sporting News in 2017. “I can't remember things. When I go to the mall or grocery store, I have to take one of my kids with me to remember where the car is parked. I have trouble remembering conversations I had five minutes ago. Bright lights bother me. I just don’t feel right all the time.

“This is friggin’ serious. The doctors said this was going to start happening and now it’s happening. I haven’t had depression or anything like that. But it scares the heck out of me. The doctors say it could get worse.”

Unfortunately, Garner is not alone among former NFL players when it comes to CTE.

The Las Vegas Raiders open training camp for the entire team on July 25, 2023.

The Silver and Black open the preseason by hosting the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, Aug. 13, at 4 p.m. EDT/1 p.m. PDT.

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