Report: Chiefs place Edwards-Helaire on non-football illness list

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - The Kansas City Chiefs placed running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire on the reserve/non-football illness list Monday, three days ahead of the 2024 season-opening game against the Baltimore Ravens.

ESPN’s Field Yates was the first to report that Edwards-Helaire was placed on the list less than a week after making the Chiefs 53-man roster for his fifth season in the National Football League. As a result of being placed on the NFI list, Edwards-Helaire will not be eligible to play for the first four games of the season.

Last week, Kansas City added veteran running back Samaje Perine to the roster after the Denver Broncos cut the 28-year-old from Oklahoma. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said he expects both Perine and wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster -- who also signed with Kansas City last week -- to play in Week 1.

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Edwards-Helaire missed several practices during training camp in St. Joseph, Missouri, this summer due to what the Chiefs said was illness. Edwards-Helaire told reporters in early August he was in the midst of an ongoing battle with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) that stemmed from a December 2018 incident in which he and his LSU teammate Jared Small were victims of an attempted robbery in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The man who attempted to rob Edwards-Helaire and his teammates, Kobe Johnson, was shot and died at the scene.

Edwards-Helaire played sparingly in Kansas City’s preseason opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars and did not participate in either of the final two preseason games.

The 25-year-old from Baton Rouge was Kansas City’s first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. He has 1,845 rushing yards in 48 career games.

Edwards-Helaire is the second Kansas City Chief to be placed on the NFI list after defensive end BJ Thompson was placed on it after going into cardiac arrest during a team meeting in June.

Kansas City opens the 2024 season Thursday, Sept. 5, against the Ravens. Without Edwards-Helaire, Kansas City’s active running back room consists of Isiah Pacheco, Samaje Perine and Carson Steele.