KC Chiefs: Clyde Edwards-Helaire says he’s 100 percent healthy

Six months ago at this time, Clyde Edwards-Helaire was dealing with a few injuries. As the K.C. Chiefs were working their way through the postseason, they were especially ailing in the running game with an offensive line held together by figurative duct tape and a backfield operating with an injured lead back.

Fortunately for the Chiefs, Edwards-Helaire told reporters on Wednesday that he’s feeling 100 percent this offseason. The results are allowing him to develop his game, especially as a receiver, as the team comes together for another three-day stretch of mandatory practices.

Back in Week 15, Edwards-Helaire suffered both a high ankle sprain and a hip injury in the Chiefs close win over the New Orleans Saints. The Chiefs shut him down for the limited remaining games of the regular season—Week 16 against the Atlanta Falcons and Week 17 against the L.A. Chargers—in order to give him a chance to recover and potentially prepare for the postseason.

Even with a first-round bye, the only one in the AFC, for the opening round of the NFL playoffs, Edwards-Helaire was still not ready to go by the Divisional Round, which kept him inactive for the team’s win over the Cleveland Browns. He did return to play nearly 50 percent of the offensive snaps against the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship, but he had 7 yards on 6 carries and clearly was not ready for action.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire is fully recovered from late season injuries.

By the time the Super Bowl rolled around, Edwards-Helaire looked better but the lopsided defeat to the Buccaneers really nullified the effectiveness of the running game. The first-round pick finished with 64 yards on only 9 rushes, but it was too little too late at that point.

On Wednesday, Edwards-Helaire spoke to reporters and said his primary offseason focus at first was about getting healthy again. “After the Super Bowl, just having the crazy hip and ankle injury that I had, just trying to get back to 100 percent was my thing.”

From there, Edwards-Helaire said that he’s been working hard on his receiving skills for the team, not just as a check down option or backfield target.

“Talking to Coach Reid and also Pat [Mahomes], there are things that we’re implementing to get the ball to the back and just spread it out more,” said Edwards-Helaire. “That was one of the [reasons] why I chose to work on my hands and just be more of a threat. It was seen that I could run the ball between the tackles, outside that was seen, so being able to also get out and not just routes out of the backfield but also out in a slot position and also the outside wideout position. Just being able to expand my skill set was my thing.”

Edwards-Helaire ended last season with 181 carries for 803 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns. He also added another 36 catches for 297 yards and 1 score through the air. If he can become more of a weapon in the passing game and stay healthy, there’s every reason to expect Edwards-Helaire to become the next household name from the Chiefs offense.