Chiefs place running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire on IR. He’ll miss at least 4 games
The Chiefs are without running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire for at least four weeks.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid announced Wednesday that Edwards-Helaire was placed on injured reserve.
“He’s got a pretty good high-ankle sprain there,” Reid said.
Edwards-Helaire played just five offensive snaps before suffering the injury in Week 11’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers. He will now miss games against the Los Angeles Chargers, Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos and Houston Texans. The soonest he could return is Week 16 against the Seattle Seahawks, depending on his recovery process.
The third-year pro’s injury is the latest setback to his 2022 campaign.
Edwards-Helaire, the Chiefs’ first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, opened the season as the starter before rookie Isiah Pacheco, a seventh-round pick in 2022, supplanted Edwards-Helaire atop the depth chart.
Through 10 games, Edwards-Helaire has 302 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 71 carries, adding 151 yards receiving and three touchdowns on 17 catches.
The Chiefs are covered with depth at the running back position during Edwards-Helaire’s absence.
Pacheco has started four straight games and currently leads the Chiefs in rushing with 386 yards. The Chiefs also have Jerick McKinnon, who leads the running backs in snap counts (320) and Ronald Jones, who has been a healthy inactive this season.
Opportunity knocks for Jones, who has been a healthy inactive this season, and the Chiefs want to see how he handles practice this week.
“Really, it’s just an opportunity to get in and work, literally,” Reid said. “He has a chance to play, legitimate chance. But within that, he has to make sure he has all the protections down and the timing of the runs, those are things we’ll look at. He’s been working at it and I don’t think he should have a problem with that.”
Edwards-Helaire’s transaction opened a spot on the 53-player roster, which the Chiefs filled with an expected move.
Reid announced that offensive lineman Lucas Niang has been activated from the physically unable to perform (PUP) list.
Niang, who suffered a knee injury in Week 17 of the 2021 regular season, returned to practice three weeks ago. He started nine games at right tackle in 2021 and now provides depth behind Andrew Wylie.
This story was originally published November 23, 2022 at 1:02 PM.
