Edwards-Helaire on NFI list, out at least 4 games

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire has been placed on the non-football illness list by the Kansas City Chiefs.

Edwards-Helaire will miss the first four games of the season before he’s eligible to return.

Edwards-Helaire recently detailed his battles with PTSD. He missed several training camp practices and wasn’t on the practice field with the Chiefs on Sunday as they began preparations for Thursday night’s season opener against the Baltimore Ravens.

Last month, Edwards-Helaire provided an exact date, Dec. 22, 2018, as the start of his experience with PTSD. He didn’t go into details other than to say he and a friend found themselves in what he called “a self-defense situation.” Edwards-Helaire at the time was in college at LSU.

Two LSU football players were trying to sell an electronic item on that date when one of them fatally shot an 18-year-old man trying to rob them, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, police said. The police didn’t identify the players, but The Associated Press reported that Edwards-Helaire was one of them.

Edwards-Helaire was the Chiefs’ first-round draft pick in 2020 and their starting running back his first two seasons. He lost the starting job to then-rookie Isiah Pacheco in 2022 and has been a reserve ever since.

The Chiefs have two running backs in addition to Pacheco on their active roster. One, veteran Samaje Perine, is a recent addition after he was released by the Denver Broncos. The other, Carson Steele, is a rookie who made the team after a strong training camp and preseason.