The Chiefs welcomed a pair of offensive players back to practice today. According to Herbie Teope of The Kansas City Star (on Twitter), the Chiefs designated running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire and tight end Jody Fortson for return. The team will now have 21 days to activate either player to the 53-man roster.
Edwards-Helaire hasn’t seen the field since November while dealing with a high-ankle sprain. At the time of his injury, CEH was already seeing a reduced role on offense, with rookie Isiah Pacheco and pass-catcher Jerick McKinnon soaking up many of the RB snaps. Even if Edwards-Helaire is good to go for the rest of the playoffs, there’s no guarantee that he’ll be anything more than the third running back on the depth chart.
The 2020 first-round pick has shown flashes during his brief career, including a rookie campaign that saw him finish with 1,100 yards from scrimmage. In 10 games (six starts) this season, the 23-year-old collected 453 yards from scrimmage and six touchdowns.
“Anytime you get talented players back, it helps the whole team — not just the offense, but everybody,” quarterback Patrick Mahomes said (via Teope). “To have that energy in the locker room again, to have it on the football field and both those guys are special-type players.”
Fortson suffered an elbow injury in Week 15 that shut him down for the rest of the regular season. The tight end had 108 yards and two touchdowns while playing behind Travis Kelce and Noah Gray on the depth chart.
CEH won’t be around for much longer. Pacheco is a an amazing find and McKinnon is very versatile. That’s not to say that CEH won’t go somewhere and still have a productive career.
Good 3rd stringer to have. No way does he play in front of the other 2. I wouldn’t play him now I. Front of Ron Jones who has seen little action. Clyde just can’t take the pounding.
My first thought was .. For What ? This guy must love practicing because he won’t be playing very much
If one of the other backs gets hurt he will be playing.
He’ll end up the Super Bowl MVP somehow just to torture everyone.