The Kansas City Chiefs are getting some reinforcements on the offensive side of the ball ahead of their Week 11 game against the Dallas Cowboys.
According to a report from NFL Network’s James Palmer, the Chiefs plan to activate Clyde Edwards-Helaire from injured reserve on Saturday. The former first-round draft pick suffered an MCL sprain back in the Week 5 loss to the Buffalo Bills. He was designated to return at the beginning of last week, but the team chose to give him an extra week of practice before activating him to the 53-man roster.
In just over four games played earlier this season, Edwards-Helaire has recorded 65 carries for 304 yards, with eight passes caught for 61 yards and two touchdowns.
The #chiefs will be activating RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire off IR ahead of their game against the #cowboys per source. I’ll have more on how he’ll be used tomorrow on @NFLGameDay
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) November 20, 2021
Chiefs HC Andy Reid spoke about their plans for Edwards-Helaire on Friday, indicating his activation was imminent.
“Yeah, I’ll get with Rick (Burkholder) here and just make sure that everything is OK,” Reid said. “We’ll go from there, but (Clyde Edwards-Helaire) had a good week of practice.”
With the emergence of Darrel Williams in recent weeks, fans should expect close to a 50/50 snap share between the two running backs while Edwards-Helaire gets acclimated following his injury. The emergence of Williams as a pass-catcher is a big deal given that’s an area where Edwards-Helaire has struggled to get going as a professional. The two players who will suffer the most from Edwards-Helaire’s return are Jerick McKinnon and Derrick Gore. Both will likely see the majority of their snaps on special teams.
Kansas City doesn’t need to make room on the roster for Edwards-Helaire after Marcus Kemp was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list on Thursday.
[listicle id=110554]