Kansas City Chiefs rookie RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire dressed for action but didn’t play a single snap against the Denver Broncos in Week 13.
You’ll recall that he was questionable for the game and had missed the final two practices during the week with a stomach virus. The team announced their inactive player list about an hour before the game with fans and fantasy football managers alike learning that he was good to go. Then he didn’t end up recording a single snap. He appeared to only be available in case of emergencies.
According to Chiefs HC Andy Reid, the decision was a matter of what his illness did to his body.
“I think you saw where Clyde (Edwards Helaire) dressed out, didn’t play,” Reid said. “He didn’t practice this week, and I just felt like he lost some weight with the stomach virus and I pulled him back out. The other guys did a nice job of filling in for him.”
The stomach flu and a few days out of practice and the weight room will have even the most veteran athletes losing weight. It was probably the safe thing to keep him out of the game without practicing for most of the week too. The last thing the team wants is to risk injury to one of their budding stars on offense. As Reid said the other running backs did a nice job filling in, combining for 17 rushing attempts for 78 yards against the Broncos on Sunday without Edwards-Helaire.
Reid didn’t have any other injuries to report on after the game. It’s a safe bet that Edwards-Helaire will be back in action next week when the team heads to Miami to face the Dolphins, so long as he can put back on some of the weight that he lost during the practice week.
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