We can now put a name to the injuries suffered by Kansas City Chiefs RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire in Week 15 against the New Orleans Saints.
Earlier today when Andy Reid spoke to the media, Edwards-Helaire was still under evaluation. Reid didn’t have any new information on the severity of the injury or whether Edwards-Helaire would be considered at risk of being placed on injured reserve. Reid did say they would know more later today and it appears that information has got out to the media.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Edwards-Helaire suffered both a high-ankle sprain and a hip strain. This is really a best-case scenario as these two injuries would suggest that there aren’t any significant ligament tears, fractures or anything like that.
For #Chiefs RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire, the high-ankle sprain will likely take more time to heal than the hip strain. The team is hopeful for a playoff return depending on his rehab, and the divisional round is about a month away. He has time.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 21, 2020
Rapoport also had a report on Edwards-Helaire early this morning and this update sort of echoes what he said then. The Chiefs are hopeful that Edwards-Helaire will have a chance to return during the course of the playoffs. The high-ankle sprain will likely be the determining factor on whether the rookie RB will be able to return. Depending on the grade of the sprain, he could miss anywhere from three to eight weeks.
It’s unclear if the Chiefs will choose to put Edwards-Helaire on injured reserve given the circumstances. There were no transactions on Monday, so if they do decide to do this, it’ll come later in the week. Edwards-Helaire would be able to return within three weeks under the new injured reserve rules. However, if there’s even a chance that he could be ready sooner, they’ll likely just keep him on the 53-man roster.
