After being a question mark for the past few days, there is now a possibility that Kansas City Chiefs running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire may feature in the upcoming Week 17 clash with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Edwards-Helaire came away from the Chiefs' recent blowout home win over the Pittsburgh Steelers with a bruised shoulder injury. He sustained the injury in the third quarter after being tackled by Steelers defensive end Isaiahh Loudermilk. While he was initially listed as questionable to return, the team later opted to rule him out for the remainder of the contest.
There was some initial concern that the injury for Edwards-Helaire would end up forcing him to miss the rest of the season.
However, as NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport noted on Monday, X-rays on the collarbone of Edwards-Helaire came back as negative and revealed no structural damage. ESPN’s Adam Schefter further added that the versatile running back was being listed as “day-to-day” to a bruised shoulder injury.
The Chiefs have kept a conservative stance regarding Edwards-Helaire’s injury, as head coach Andy Reid opted to hold him out of each of their scheduled practices ahead of the matchup against the Bengals.
During his press conference on Friday, Reid noted that Edwards-Helaire has been “feeling better.” Still, he did not rule him out for Week 17 as the feature back has officially been placed an injury designation of questionable.
If Edwards-Helaire ends up being ruled out for the Chiefs’ contest against the Bengals, offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy will call upon Darrel Williams and Derrick Gore to lead Kansas City’s rushing attack. The team could also have running back Jerick McKinnon back in time for this game, as he has been designated to return from injured reserve. He has been sidelined as of late due to a hamstring injury.
The Chiefs could clinch the No. 1 seed in the AFC this week with a win coupled with a Tennessee Titans loss to the Miami Dolphins.