What’s behind this new health kick for Kansas City Chiefs back Clyde Edwards-Helaire?
Chiefs running Clyde Edwards-Helaire snared what appeared to be a shovel-screen pass from quarterback Patrick Mahomes near the left sideline early during Thursday morning’s practice.
A wall of defenders converged on the second-year pro’s location, but with blockers leading the way, Edwards-Helaire burst through and found a clear path to the end zone to fans’ delight at Missouri Western State University.
After the running back crossed the training camp goal line, a group near the back of the end zone started chanting his name with a mix of “Way to go, Clyde!” and “Clyde!” among the chorus. Edwards-Helaire held up his left hand in acknowledgment before heading back to the sideline.
The play showed what Edwards-Helaire can do in the Chiefs’ offense when he’s fully healthy.
Unfortunately, “fully healthy” wasn’t the case during the team’s run at Super Bowl LV. Edwards-Helaire felt the lingering effects of a high-ankle sprain he suffered in Week 15.
“I was about probably 85%, close to 90%,” he revealed after Thursday’s practice in St. Joe.
That day, on the biggest stage in football, it showed in his statistics. Edwards-Helaire accumulated just 87 total yards (64 rushing) playing 34 of the offense’s 75 snaps in the Chiefs’ 31-9 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
With the season over, the Chiefs’ first-round pick from the 2020 NFL Draft knew he had to approach this offseason differently. He’d spent the previous two years in a perpetual grind, helping LSU win a national championship before diving headlong into preparation for the draft.
So what did he do after Super Bowl LV? He focused on taking care of himself.
“Right after the season it wasn’t too hard because I knew I was hurt,” he said. “That was the thing, just kind of making sure everything was aligned right. I probably wasn’t doing anything (strenuous), just being able to recover, get some guidance to work on ankle, hips. That was the best thing that benefited me.”
Edwards-Helaire left no doubt about where he sees himself now.
“I’m 100%,” he said.
Edwards-Helaire’s rookie season should be viewed as a success despite his late-season injury. He appeared in 13 games, all starts, and totaled 1,100 yards (803 rushing) with five touchdowns
A fully healthy Edwards-Helaire will only help one of the NFL’s top offenses. And Thursday’s screen play was but one example of how the Chiefs can utilize their dynamic running back.
Edwards-Helaire put himself in position to succeed in 2021 by taking care of his body in the offseason.
“Just having the time to kind of let my body recover, then be specific on my training in the offseason and rehab kind of got me where I am right now,” he said.
PARTICIPATION REPORT
Tight end Travis Kelce left practice early because of tightness in his back and hips, the Chiefs announced. Kelce got in at least of hour of on-field work before leaving the field and walking up the hill under his own power with a trainer.
Linebacker Anthony Hitchens (hamstring), safety Armani Watts (foot, PUP list), offensive lineman Kyle Long (knee, PUP list), Nick Keizer (back spasms, NFI list), Malik Herring (knee, NFI list) were observed working off to the side near the rehabilitation tent.
Hitchens tweaked his hamstring during Wednesday’s practice.
Running back Darwin Thompson, LS James Winchester, both of whom are the reserve/COVID-19 list, were not present.
OBSERVATIONS
- For a second straight days, the Chiefs’ first-unit offensive line featured: left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., left guard Joe Thuney, rookie center Creed Humphrey, rookie right guard Trey Smith and right tackle Mike Remmers. Veteran Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, a starter at right guard before opting out last season, continues to work with the second team.
- Defensive lineman Chris Jones spent a lot of time lined up on the edge during team drills. He showed exceptional burst at the snap of the ball by getting under and around Remmers for what would’ve been a sack on quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
- Humphrey didn’t have a great day during team drills and accounted for two bad snaps. Mahomes saved one of the bad snaps, which went high, by reaching out with his left hand to secure the football.
- The wide receiver pecking order outside of Tyreek Hill is far from set in stone. But Hill, Mecole Hardman and Demarcus Robinson started off together for most rotations with the first-team unit.
- With Anthony Hitchens nursing a tweaked hamstring, the Chiefs’ linebacker unit saw Ben Niemann at middle linebacker with Willie Gay Jr. and Nick Bolton flanking him. At the cornerback position, Charvarius Ward and L’Jarius Sneed manned the outside in the 4-3 base, with Sneed moving inside and Mike Hughes taking Sneed’s spot at right cornerback.
- Quarterback Chad Henne, who has enjoyed a strong camp as Mahomes’ primary backup, and tight end Jody Fortson worked together to produce a head-turning play during team drills. At the snap of the ball, Fortson ran a post route and got between three defenders. Henne anticipated Fortson’s break and threw a perfectly placed ball, which landed in Fortson’s hands.
PLAY OF THE DAY
The Chiefs are high on rookie tight end Noah Gray, and he showed why on one specific play with the starters during team drills.
Gray found himself locked up against veteran safety Daniel Sorensen at the snap of the ball and immediately took off down the field along the left sideline. Mahomes quickly spotted Gray, who had a step on Sorensen, breaking open and lofted a perfect pass to hit Gray in stride.
Sorensen made a diving attempt to stop Gray, but the rookie easily got behind the coverage for a touchdown.
This story was originally published July 29, 2021 at 2:42 PM.
