Injury Update: First Report on Clyde Edwards-Helaire's Knee Injury
On Monday, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport provided an injury update for running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who injured his knee in the Chiefs' 38-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
After the game on Sunday night, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said the Chiefs would wait to reevaluate Edwards-Helaire after seeing "how it goes overnight here into tomorrow." Now the Chiefs have a more specific diagnosis, according to Rapoport.
"Chiefs RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire suffered an MCL sprain and is out for a few weeks, sources say," Rapoport tweeted. "While he'll miss time, not quite as bad as it appeared last night."
As Rapoport notes, Edwards-Helaire will be sidelined for some period of time, but it won't be a season-ending injury, which seemed like a plausible worst-case scenario as he was carried off the field by Tyreek Hill and Darrel Williams on Sunday night.
Nate Taylor of The Athletic tweeted that Edwards-Helaire "is out for at least a few weeks," also noting that guard Joe Thuney could avoid any missed time despite a broken hand suffered in the Bills game.
If Edwards-Helaire is set to miss at least three weeks, the Chiefs will likely place him on injured reserve, where the team could activate him after a minimum of three missed weeks.
After the game, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was asked if he had a chance to talk to Edwards-Helaire following his injury and what he'd say to his backfield teammate.
"Obviously he's upset, he just wants to play," Mahomes said. "He had the injury at the end of last year. He's been rolling these last few weeks. He's upset. I didn't get to talk to him after yet, but hopefully it's nothing too serious and we can get him back before the end of the season."
Without Edwards-Helaire, the Chiefs will likely lean on veteran running backs Darrel Williams and Jerrick McKinnon, with Williams being a career-long Chief and McKinnon being a new addition before the 2021 season. Williams has gotten consistent work throughout the season and played 37 snaps against the Bills, leading the running backs with 43% of the workload. McKinnon got work early in the game, even well before Edwards-Helaire's injury, and ultimately took 27 snaps for 31%. Against Buffalo, Williams ran the ball five times for 27 yards and had three receptions for 18 yards. McKinnon took just one carry for two yards and caught two passes for 13.
