A surprising but familiar name popped up on the Chiefs’ practice squad roster released Wednesday:
Running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire.
The Chiefs have made a habit of bringing back former players. This week, they also traded for defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi, who had signed with the New York Jets in the offseason after spending his seven-year career with the Chiefs.
Mecole Hardman, Mike Edwards and Kareem Hunt are just a few examples of players who’ve made their way back to Kansas City after playing elsewhere.
Situations are different for everyone. In Edward-Helaire’s case, he was released by the Chiefs last December when he was buried on the depth chart, the fifth of five running backs.
Edwards-Helaire signed with the New Orleans Saints and appeared in the final two games last season, rushing for a total of 46 yards on 13 attempts with three receptions for 24 yards. He was in Saints camp but was released this week.
The Chiefs drafted Edwards-Helaire out of LSU in 2020. He led the team in rushing that season with 803 yards, but his production decreased every year after that. He lost his starting spot to Isiah Pacheco during the 2022 season and never got it back.
He was part of Super Bowl-winning teams in 2022 and 2023, although he suffered a high ankle sprain late in 2022 and didn’t appear in the postseason.
Edwards-Helaire was placed on the reserve/non-football illness list to begin last season. Weeks earlier in training camp, he opened up about his struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder after a 2018 shooting incident while he was at LSU.
He was one of two LSU football players attempting to sell a piece of electronics when one of them fatally shot an 18-year-old man who was trying to rob them, Baton Rouge, Louisiana police said. The police didn’t identify the players, but the Associated Press reported that Edwards-Helaire, who was 19 at the time, was one of them. The players were not charged.
The incident’s impact and other trauma have remained with Edwards-Helaire throughout his time with the Chiefs.
Now, he’s back in KC, and it appears to be another uphill battle for playing time. As the Chiefs prepare for the season opener on Sept. 5 against the Los Angeles Chargers in Sao Paulo, Brazil, they have a healthy Pacheco, Hunt, Elijah Mitchell and rookie Brashard Smith on the 53-man roster, with Edwards-Helaire and Steele on the practice squad.
“That fourth guy might be inactive,” general manager Brett Veach said. “And, you know, we brought Clyde back and Carson, so now you have a couple of guys, depending on how the injury situation goes — there’s a lot in our offense.”