KC Chiefs have varying injury concerns heading into postseason

Clyde Edwards-Helaire & Darrel Williams

Boy, the offensive backfield is looking very, very different than it did to start the season. The good news is that everyone involved seems to be playing well, rising up to meet the challenge of the moment when their particular number is called.

Coming into Sunday’s game, the team had already declared Clyde Edwards-Helaire out for the contest with a shoulder/collarbone injury he’d suffered back in Week 16 after coming down hard on a tackle against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The team said his MRI results were positive for anything long-term, so the choice to hold him out of the final two games of the season felt more like the franchise would rather be safe than sorry.

Moving forward into the postseason, then, Edwards-Helaire might be ready to go. That’s good news because Darrel Williams is now hurting after suffering a toe injury against the Broncos. He was designated as questionable to return. Following the game, Reid only said it was his big toe and that it was “bothering him.” No further details were known.

While that might sound minor, remember that linebacker Willie Gay didn’t play for the first five weeks of the season because of a toe injury suffered during the preseason.

If CEH is not ready to play and Williams remains out, then that means Derrick Gore and Jerick McKinnon form the running back committee from here on out. If Edwards-Helaire is good or Williams can shrug one off, then the Chiefs should still be fine, but no team can going into the postseason with two healthy backs. Watch for the Chiefs to make a move (Elijah McGuire is on the practice squad) or announce the status of one or both backs soon to answer questions about the position.