Former Chiefs running back gets a real shot at redemption with New Orleans’ return

For many teams (and players) in the National Football League, the 2024 season is pretty much over. The games are pointless. The fortunes are set. The bubbles are burst and it’s only a matter of time before the clock strikes midnight in early January and hundreds of players can look forward to the long offseason.

But even for those players who languish on teams without playoff hopes, there can be plenty to play for, and that’s especially true for former Kansas City Chiefs running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire.

Edwards-Helaire has just two games left in his 2024 campaign now that he’s a member of the New Orleans Saints, a recently signed running back who was brought in to provide depth and additional help at a position dealing with injuries (Alvin Kamara is out, eg a). For Edwards-Helaire, it was a chance to come home, to join his home state’s only pro franchise and play close to where he invested his collegiate days in Baton Rouge at LSU.

The Chiefs let Edwards-Helaire go earlier in December to make room on the roster for other positions with a backfield that clearly functioned without him. Despite being the team’s former first-round pick in 2020, when healthy, the Chiefs were comfortable rolling with a one-two tandem of Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt, with Samaje Perine providing snaps on obvious downfalls. Fullback Carson Steele was also available to provide reps when needed.

As for Edwards-Helaire, the hype of being the first running back selected in a draft that also included Jonathan Taylor was always a cloud surrounding the LSU star. Expectations were high — perhaps too high — and injuries and a poor fit on offense never allowed Edwards-Helaire to really take off at the level most Chiefs fans envisioned in an offense that also featured Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill.

On Sunday, Edwards-Helaire could take his first snap away from Kansas City in the NFL. The saints have elevated him from the practice squad to play for the first time with the franchise. It’s still uncertain whether he’ll be active on game day against the LA Raiders, but the team at least promoted him when center Erik McCoy and guard Lucas Patrick were placed on injured reserve.