The. Kansas City Chiefs are looking at some concerns in the backfield, which might open up things for Carson Steele to start the season.
The Kansas City Chiefs made a signfiicant move in the backfield on Monday morning with the placement of veteran Clyde Edwards-Helaire to the team's non-football injury (NFI) list. With the move, the Chiefs will be without Edwards-Helaire for the next four games, at least, and will have to reshuffle expectations for the team's running backs going forward.
That means that some changes are coming quickly for the players involved, especially since the Baltimore Ravens are visiting the Chiefs at Arrowhead on Thursday evening to kick off the entire NFL regular season.
With Week 1 approaching, the loss of Edwards-Helaire for a few weeks means that the Chiefs will have to figure things out on the fly, so to speak. Isiah Pacheco is the lead back and his place isn't debatable which lends some stability to the situation overall. From there, however, things get really interesting for a few reasons.
1. Edwards-Helaire is the only other player on the active roster with any meaningful experience in Andy Reid's offense. The fifth-year back was re-signed for another year this spring with the idea of serving as the primary backup to both Pacheco and whoever was brought oni board to replace Jerick McKinnon. Now that net is gone.
2. Carson Steele made the active roster as a feel-good story, a rookie free agent out of UCLA who leaped over plenty of competitors to make the Chiefs. That said, he's green as can be and it's a big leap from the preseason to the regular season and many training camp heroes have fallen short when given meaningful reps.
3. Samaje Perine is the other option on the roster at the present time, a long-time NFL vet with the Bengals and Broncos who was just brought on board to play the role of third-down back. His experience should allow him to make a smoother transition than others, but it's still notable that he was employed by a rival one week ago.
Pacheco is healthy, by all accounts, and should be able to hold down the bulk of the team's rushing attack against the Ravens. That said, for those who thought someone like Carson Steele might get the occasional snap here and there in garbage time, the script might look a bit different now.
Against the Ravens, Pacheco and Perine are going to get their reps in the backfield, but there's little doubt that the Chiefs bell cow will need to be spelled here and there and that means Steele is likely to sub in and out on occasion. He might even get a series or two.
The only back with a rushing attempt in the AFC Championship game between the Ravens and Chiefs was Ewards-Helaire and that was only a single time. Thus, it's possible the Chiefs lean heavily on Pacheco again to get the job done in his absence. But the team also knows that the stakes are way different from Week 1 to the conference title game and long-term lenses are in place. That means Pacheco will get his rest and Steele will get his chances.
Who would have envisioned any of this for Carson Steele back in early May?