The Kansas City Chiefs will be without one of their running backs for the first four games of the 2024 NFL season. As the Chiefs begin the chase for the first three-peat ever, the team will be forced to go without one of their veterans in the backfield.
NFL insider Field Yates reports running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire was placed on the Chiefs’ reserve/non-football illness list on Monday morning.
The cause of CEH’s mental battle stems from a self-defense incident that happened to him while he was a student at LSU in 2018. The veteran missed training camp practices and did not participate in Kansas City’s preseason match against the Detroit Lions. According to reports while the team was in St. Joseph, CEH shared that he’s visited the hospital multiple times due to PTSD.
CEH mounted a long list of injuries since entering the league. As a rookie, his 2020 campaign was shortened by hip and ankle injuries suffered during Kansas City’s Week 15 matchup against New Orleans that caused him to miss three games. In 2021, he missed a total of seven games with shoulder, knee, and shoulder complications. After the 2021 season, CEH revealed his poor production (119 car, 517 yds, and 4 tds) stemmed from gall bladder surgery. In 2022, CEH suffered an ankle sprain in Week 10 and missed the final seven regular season games.
Losing CEH means the Chiefs will have to rely on undrafted rookie Carson Steele and recently signed veteran Samaje Perine to help Isiah Pacheco carry the load on offense. The Chiefs’ first game of the season will kick off on September 5 against the Baltimore Ravens.
CEH first entered the NFL as the 32nd overall pick by the Chiefs in 2020 after a stellar college career at LSU. Through five career seasons with Kansas City, CEH has played in 48 games (32 starts) rushing for 1,845 yards and 12 touchdowns on 441 carries. He also caught 89 passes for 765 yards and seven touchdowns.
