Instead of asking if Clyde Edwards-Helaire will be back this postseason, we might even need to be asking if this is it for him as a Chief.
Kansas City Chiefs running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire hasn’t taken a snap since week 11 against the Los Angeles Chargers where he suffered a high-ankle sprain. The Chiefs placed Edwards-Helaire on Injured Reserve following the injury and head coach Andy Reid has been vague about a possible return at any point.
The ankle injury is one of a laundry list of injuries that have plagued Edwards-Helaire for the majority of his career. Edwards-Helaire also missed a playoff game just last year with a shoulder injury that he sustained at the end of the 2021 regular season.
Edwards-Helaire went on to make a return in the 2021-2022 postseason but will the same be true for this year? At this point, it seems unlikely just due to the timing of everything, but Edwards-Helaire did send out a recent tweet that might just suggest he could return. The Chiefs also designated him to return to practice this week, but that only opens a window for him to potentially come back.
https://twitter.com/Clydro_22/status/1615073141168181248?s=20&t=IOLqPf_9AGRjrrte11Rl8w
If he does return, it’s hard to gauge what type of role Edwards-Helaire would even have. If he isn’t activated, unfortunately, it’s likely not just because the ankle is likely still ailing Edwards-Helaire. If fans can remember correctly, the staff actually moved off from CEH being the starting running back earlier this season when Ian Rapoport reported that rookie Isiah Pacheco would be taking over the starting gig. Pacheco went on to have a great rookie season for Kansas City, totaling over 800 rushing yards and 5 TDs. In addition, running back Jerick McKinnon just won AFC Offensive Player of the Month to close out the season and has been terrific on third down this year.
Essentially, the Chiefs’ running back room isn’t really in need of Edwards-Helaire’s return, especially since Ronald Jones even looks like a guy that can play in case of emergency. CEH’s return would just be inconvenient because the running back rotation looks set and it’s late in the season to bring CEH back and get him acclimated again. It’s the postseason. You have to go with the hot hand.
Let’s be honest as well: Edwards-Helaire doesn’t give the Chiefs much value. We’ve been through this experiment for three years now and it doesn’t appear to be working. We’re talking about a guy that had fewer rushing yards than Patrick Mahomes this year. Yes, Patrick Mahomes. It’s just the reality that Edwards-Helaire hasn’t exactly been missed by the Chiefs’ offense.
Let’s just say Edwards-Helaire does return. What does he provide? In an ideal world he can probably be an emergency back but who are you taking off the field to give him snaps? Perhaps, they could look at using him in the red zone occasionally, an area in which the Chiefs sometimes struggle and one where Edwards-Helaire was contributing early in the season. Anything more than that seems irresponsible.
You have to feel for Edwards-Helaire a bit. It’s not his fault he’s been constantly injured but since he’s been here we’ve seen many running backs play in his place while he’s been hurt and actually look a lot better than him. Instead of asking if Edwards-Helaire will be back this postseason, we might even need to be asking if this is it for him as a Chief.