The Kansas City Chiefs are set to be without running back Isiah Pacheco for the foreseeable future, as the veteran runner is "week-to-week" with a knee injury. The injury forced the Chiefs to elevate Clyde Edwards-Helaire from the practice squad, putting Pacheco's eventual return up in the air.
Pacheco missed a big stretch of the previous season with a leg injury, so this ailment looked like the beginning of the end of his days at Arrowhead Stadium. Fortunately, the latest reports are much more optimistic. According to CBS Sports reporter Tracy Wolfson, the Chiefs dodged a big bullet with their starting RB.
"Isaiah Pacheco OUT for (Sunday's) game, but Andy Reid is telling me he avoided serious injury and should be back after the bye. Expect Kareem Hunt, Brashard Smith, and Clyde Edwards-Helaire to carry the load," Wolfson wrote Sunday morning.
Despite the positive update, that doesn't mean Kansas City won't make an RB trade before Tuesday's deadline.
Chiefs Might Still Trade for RB Despite Positive Isiah Pacheco News
According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Chiefs could still be in the mix to add an 'explosive' running back in the coming days:
"Certainly, there's some depth issues there, and that has accelerated a little with Isiah Pacheco going out with an ACL sprain. I'll expect the Kansas City Chiefs to keep looking at the running back market, just looking at another explosive back to give them another playmaker on the offense," Rapoport said.
The Chiefs' running back corps had been a talking point since the start of the season. Even so, they had seemingly shut down all trade rumors about a potential running back, despite players like Breece Hall, Alvin Kamara, or De'Von Achane potentially being available.
As well as they might feel about their current running back corps, they don't have a legitimate star at the position. And with the trade deadline zooming in, not trying to get better there would be a mistake by general manager Brett Veach.
As things stand now, rookie RB Brashard Smith and veteran Kareem Hunt should handle the bulk of the workload in Pacheco's absence. There was buzz about Elijah Mitchell finally getting a chance, but it seems that won't be the case with Edwards-Helaire back with the team that drafted him.
Head coach Andy Reid's team has looked like a Super Bowl contender again after a slow start to the season, but they can't rest on their laurels. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes certainly deserves as much help as he can get, and if that means adding another RB before the trade deadline arrives, that's what needs to happen.