KC Chiefs: Running back situation after Clyde Edwards-Helaire injury

Here’s what the KC Chiefs can expect without a healthy Clyde Edwards-Helaire.

The Kansas City Chiefs might have left New Orleans with a victory, but it wasn’t all good news, as Clyde Edwards-Helaire exited the game in the fourth quarter with an injury. The next morning it was reported that the X-Rays were negative, but more would be known after the MRI.

Ian Rapoport tweeted below that it seemed to be a given that Edwards-Helaire would miss the rest of the regular season but that the Chiefs hoped to have him back for the playoffs. If Edwards-Helaire misses only two games, that would be the best-case scenario with this situation.

Edwards-Helaire had 803 rushing yards and four touchdowns while also totaling 297 receiving yards and a touchdown, bringing his total yards from scrimmage number to 1,100 with five touchdowns. Not too shabby for a rookie.

What will the KC Chiefs’ running back situation look like now that Clyde Edwards-Helaire is injured?

Fortunately, the Chiefs signed Le’Veon Bell back in October after the Jets released him. That’s looking like a genius move now because, without Bell in the fold, the Chiefs would have been relying on the likes of Darrel Williams and Darwin Thompson right now. Remember – They traded DeAndre Washington to the Dolphins during the deadline, so this is all they have to work with now.

Bell is going to be the starter probably for the rest of the season now. Even if Edwards-Helaire is able to return, it’s doubtful he’ll be at 100% even during the playoffs. The two had both been seeing time in the backfield and it felt like the team was finally figuring out how to effectively use the two of them.

Williams being the starter would have made fans a bit anxious, as the third-year running back has yet to start a game in the NFL. He had four total touchdowns last year before getting injured and this season has been used in less than half of the offensive snaps in every game to this point. There wasn’t a need to have him out there more though, as CEH and Bell were the RB1 and RB2 and that was common knowledge.

Now, however, Williams steps into the backup role. He has 123 rushing yards this season with a touchdown while also tallying 87 yards through the air. Williams has been a quality pass-catcher during his time with the Chiefs and hopefully, that continues.

Should Bell or Williams get injured, it’ll be Thompson as the next man up. The 2019 sixth-round pick has been a bit of a disappointment so far, mostly because fans hyped him up to be the next great thing at running back and that obviously hasn’t happened.

Williams has a chance to prove himself during this time. Will he step up and be a reliable RB2?