Chiefs running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire was nowhere to be seen at the Super Bowl parade earlier this week, and he didn’t have a very good reason for being absent.
While his Kansas City Chiefs teammates were having the week of their lives partying it up after the Super Bowl, Clyde Edwards-Helaire left the celebrations early to strut down the runway.
Edwards-Helaire, who suffered a high ankle sprain during the 2022 regular season, was activated from injured reserve prior to Super Bowl LVII against the Philadelphia Eagles and was rumored to play. However, he ended up on the inactives list with Isiah Pacheco, Jerick McKinnon, and Ronald Jones taking over the running back room.
After the Chiefs’ win on Sunday, the running back opted to walk at New York Fashion Week on Wednesday sporting Daniel’s Leather rather than ride atop a bus wearing red-and-white colors.
A 12-year-old Chiefs fan wearing Edwards-Helaire’s No. 25 jersey was interviewed a local radio station and snubbed the 2020 first-rounder in favor of a younger and more promising running back, saying matter-of-factly: “I like the way [Isiah Pacheco] plays with all his energy.”
If Clyde Edwards-Helaire’s stint with the Chiefs is truly over, this moment would be the time to call it: a preteen boy switching allegiances to support Edwards-Helaire’s fierce rival and impending successor. This is CEH’s villain origin story.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire ditched Chiefs parade to strut down the runway in New York Fashion Week
In all seriousness, though, just because a rookie bumped Edwards-Helaire out of the starting rotation doesn’t mean the running back is done — he still has one year left on his rookie deal and could very well stay with the team for the 2023 season.
Edwards-Helaire’s excuse for missing the Super Bowl parade is better than “The dog ate my homework,” but his absence could leave many fans questioning his future with the team.
The glitz and glamour of Edwards-Helaire’s 2020 rookie year has since faded away, and Edwards-Helaire has fallen far down the pedestal to join the rest of the Chiefs’ offensive scheme misfits.
Prior to his high ankle sprain suffered in Week 11 of 2022, Edwards-Helaire’s snap counts were already dropping at an alarming rate. He went from at least seven carries in each of the first six games to four or fewer carries after the Chiefs’ bye week in Week 8.
With Pacheco earning the No. 1 running back role by the end of the season, it seems reasonable to expect Pacheco will serve as the Chiefs’ leading back for 2023 and beyond. Kansas City may still use Edwards-Helaire in passing situations next season as he plays out his rookie contract, yet it appears that he’s not part of the Chiefs’ long-term plans at the position.
Him missing the parade to pursue other interests underscores the ongoing concerns fans may have regarding his loyalty and commitment, but most can see that Edwards-Helaire was being phased out by the franchise since at least the start of the 2022 season.
In Regina George’s high-pitched voice: Stop trying to make “CEH” happen.
