The Kansas City Chiefs backfield is going to get crowded fairly quickly now that CEH is eligible to return.
In Week 3, Chiefs Kingdom saw the emergence of Carson Steele. Week 4 brought about the reunion with Kareem Hunt. This coming week, a Week 5 matchup against the New Orleans Saints, could add another running back to Kansas City's stable of choices out of the backfield.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire started the season on the Chiefs' non-football injury (NFI) list, which forced him to sit out the first four games of the new year—the mandated requirements of the roster decision. Now that those four weeks are up, Edwards-Helaire is eligible to return to the Chiefs at any time.
Edwards-Helaire has sounded ready for some time.
The Kansas City Chiefs backfield is going to get crowded fairly quickly now that CEH is eligible to return.
The Chiefs struggled to piece together a healthy backfield for the first few weeks of the season given the number of injuries atop the depth chart. Isiah Pacheco, the team's lead back, fractured his fibula in a Week 2 win over the Cincinnati Bengals at Arrowhead, which forced the team to rely on a tandem of rookie free agent Carson Steele and newly-acquired third-down back Samaje Perine in Week 3.
In response to the loss of Pacheco, the Chiefs called up a familiar face in seven-year NFL veteran Kareem Hunt and signed him to a one-year deal worth $1.2 million. However, the timing was such that they had to go through Week 3—a road win over the Atlanta Falcons—with only Steele and Perine available. Fortunately, they did a fine job and the Chiefs remained unbeaten.
With Hunt now squarely in the fold, it will be interesting to see how the franchise positions Edwards-Helaire upon his return—or even if the crowded nature of things affects their decision to activate him at this time. Edwards-Helaire sounds ready to roll, however. He recently made a cryptic post on Instagram that seemed to indicate he was ready to be activated when eligible, and further rumors via NFL reporter Ian Rapoport confirmed that he's expected to return in Week 5.
With the addition of Edwards-Helaire, there's definitely some sorting that will have to happen on the part of the Chiefs, but they are deeper than they've been in some time at the position. That's good news given the demands of making another deep postseason run for K.C.
