One thing that has consistently annoyed Kansas City Chiefs fans this season has been the team's decision not to use veteran running back Elijah Mitchell, particularly over the last few weeks with Isiah Pacheco sidelined by a knee injury.
Pacheco has now missed the Chiefs’ last three games (including Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts), but Mitchell has only played in one game during that span. That came vs. the Denver Broncos last week, where Mitchell only saw seven offensive snaps and one target.
That wasn’t a large enough sample size to determine whether Mitchell should see the field on Sunday against the Colts. However, head coach Andy Reid thought otherwise as the Chiefs elevated Clyde Edwards-Helaire from the practice squad on Saturday, per Nick Jacobs of KSHB 41 News.
And then on Sunday morning, the Chiefs made their decision official, listing Mitchell as one of the inactive players. As you can imagine, fans were not enthusiastic about this decision, and Mitchell might likely feel the same way. The hits didn't stop there, though.
After the comeback effort vs. the Colts, NFL insider Justin Schultz reported that the Chiefs are signing veteran RB Dameon Pierce, who was waived and released by the Houston Texans earlier this week.
At this point in the regular season, the Chiefs clearly don’t value the veteran running back, making it clear that he's better off signing elsewhere in free agency in the offseason.
Chiefs Pull the Rug from Under Elijah Mitchell with Week 12 Inactive, Dameon Pierce Signing
When the Chiefs signed Mitchell to a one-year deal in the offseason, fans wondered what that meant for Kareem Hunt, who was still unsigned at the time.
Mitchell has battled injuries throughout his career, but was given a fresh start in KC to compete for a roster spot and maybe the RB2 job. However, the Chiefs ultimately re-signed Hunt to a one-year pact, solidifying his role on the team.
But with Pacheco’s injury concerns, having two in-between-the-tackles RBs isn’t a bad option to get you through the grueling regular season. With Pacheco’s knee injury popping up in Week 8, Chiefs fans thought to themselves, finally, we’ll get to see Mitchell, who was inactive for the previous games.
That wasn’t the case, as the Chiefs went with the more familiar face in Edwards-Helaire off the practice squad to pair with Hunt and rookie Brashard Smith in Week 9.
That decision didn’t pay off as Edwards-Helaire didn’t make a huge impact, recording five yards on two carries on two offensive snaps. Reid was questioned for his decision and mentioned that Edwards-Helaire’s familiarity and knowledge of the schemes and protection calls.
With that in mind, Reid changed up his thought process in Week 11, coming out of the bye, and gave Mitchell a shot. However, he didn’t get much of an opportunity to show what he can do. And now he's in an even worse spot with the Chiefs now that Pierce has entered the fold. If KC had no plans to really play Mitchell, why not trade him ahead of the deadline to free up a roster spot for another position of need?
At the end of the day, the fact that Mitchell has “stayed healthy” should bode well for his future if he wants to try his hand elsewhere. Teams should feel comfortable taking another one-year flier on him to see if he can add something to their running game, especially since he's unlikely to see much playing time now that Pierce is the shiny new toy in town.