The Kansas City Chiefs have been busy throughout the offseason, adding to and maintaining their Super Bowl roster. One of the players returning in 2024 is running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who officially signed his new deal on Monday.
He addressed the media via Zoom after finalizing his contract at the Chiefs’ facility and discussed the mindset he had in free agency after Brett Veach declined to pick up his fifth-year option in 2023.
“You really just look at things and call a spade a spade,” Edwards-Helaire explained. “Looking at the [cap] number, looking at things, looking at cap space, as a football guy and a player, you see those things. Some people call it the writing on the wall, and I call it the actual sport we’re playing.
“In the same way Pat [Mahomes] was doing [his contract restructure] at some point, he knew he was gonna have to rearrange some things to get guys around that we feel like we will need in order to win a Super Bowl.”
Edwards-Helaire made it clear that he understands the business aspect of sports and didn’t let Veach’s decision on his option change his mentality heading into last season. He played a pivotal role in solidifying the running back position through midseason injuries.
Said Edwards-Helaire about Kansas City’s 2023 season:
“Numbers are numbers, things change. Obviously, [they] changed from 2019 numbers to 2020s, all the way going into 2023, [and] 2024. I was fortunate enough I’m a first-round pick, like I said, to have a second spot [to] call home. You know, a lot of those times, man, just being around football and seeing it, why don’t you don’t want to say the fifth-year options are rare, but it’s not one of those things that you see, like, oh, I know, that’s an automatic thing that’s always going to happen. So, I knew I was getting an opportunity to continue to play. You know, that fourth year wasn’t like I was getting cut. It was a next year’s contract was what has been this year. I just knew, as long as I got a chance to put on a helmet and put on pads, I was gonna have that opportunity to showcase what I needed to do to be back on his team.”
Last season, Edwards-Helaire started three of the 15 games he played, shifting between being a third-down back and starter while tallying 223 yards rushing and 188 yards receiving. He had one touchdown as a runner and another as a receiver.