Chiefs' Clyde Edwards-Helaire Designated to Return After Starting Season on NFI List

The Kansas City Chiefs designated Clyde Edwards-Helaire to return on Wednesday after spending the first four games of the season on the reserve/NFI list.

That opens a 21-day practice window for the veteran running back, after which he will either need to be on the active roster or will be placed on injured reserve for the remainder of the 2024 NFL season.

In late July, the Chiefs running back outlined his struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder dating back to what he described as a "self-defense situation" in Dec. 2018.

"Sometimes I'm admitted into the hospital, something like I can't stop throwing up and it's just, I [don't] know [anything] pretty much to stop it," he told reporters at the time. "Real bad dehydration... but it's really just mentally just not being there. It is one of those things where early on guys who kind of pay attention like Travis [Kelce] and Kadarius [Toney], at times they can even, they'll know ahead of time like, 'OK, Clyde's not laughing, he's not giggling, he's not himself.'"

Edwards-Helaire and one of his LSU teammates, linebacker Jared Small, shot and killed a man in Dec. 2018 who was allegedly trying to rob them at gunpoint. Prosecutors ultimately found that the pair were justified in the force used on the basis of self-defense.

"I would say that's probably where a majority of things stem from,'' he said of the incident. "I wouldn't necessarily say everything stemmed from that. I have best friends that passed away at young ages from gun violence and just not being in the right places at the right time and just knowing that I have people that are close to me or around me who... could be in the same spots that I am.''

As for the Chiefs, the team currently has Isiah Pacheco on injured reserve and Kareem Hunt, Carson and Samaje Perine available at running back. Hunt emerged as the top option last week in the 17-10 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, rushing 14 times for 69 yards while adding two catches for 16 yards.

It appears as though Edwards-Helaire—the former No. 1 pick of the Chiefs in the 2020 draft who lost the starting gig to Pacheco back in 2022—will be added to the mix for a Week 5 matchup against the New Orleans Saints.