Chiefs rumors: Clyde Edwards-Helaire could draw trade interest

Jeremy Fowler of ESPN is reporting that Clyde Edwards-Helaire could draw some trade interest from teams interested in a buy-low investment.

The Kansas City Chiefs are typically the ones doing the discount shopping from the National Football League’s shelves. General manager Brett Veach has a penchant for chasing low-level investments with high-ceiling potential, but this offseason, the Chiefs have such a product of their own in running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler has word that teams could be interested in Edwards-Helaire as a trade target hoping that a change of scenery might provide exactly what the former LSU star might need to kickstart an NFL career that was expected to be dynamic from the start.

The Chiefs selected Edwards-Helaire in the 2020 NFL Draft hoping he would pick up where Kareem Hunt left off as a vital offensive cog out of the backfield—working together with Travis Kelce at tight end and Tyreek Hill at wide receiver. Instead, injuries took their toll and inconsistent play kept him from ever establishing himself against rather middling competition.

Instead, the Chiefs have turned to cheap free agent claims like Jerick McKinnon or late-round picks like Isiah Pacheco to take over in the backfield instead. Even when the team traded Hill away, they still went with the discount RB tandem and won a Super Bowl in the process.

While Edwards-Helaire was injured for a lot of the ’22 campaign, he was healthy for Super Bowl LVII, yet he remained a healthy scratch. A few days later, he was working on his own interests in fashion for New York’s Fashion Week while the rest of the Chiefs organization celebrated with a victory parade back home in K.C.

Reading the tea leaves indicates that Edwards-Helaire might be ready for a change himself, but there’s no denying the draft buzz he created as the first back drafted in his entire class. He was originally considered a pro-ready player who would be the new Brian Westbrook for Andy Reid’s offense as a well-rounded threat who defenses would have to account for.

Just like Veach has taken stabs at players like Reggie Ragland, Cam Erving, Mike Hughes, or Deandre Baker, it makes sense for another franchise to reach out and see if they can give Edwards-Helaire a way to thrive beyond the college ranks. For the Chiefs, it would at least be a way to recoup something on their investment.