The Kansas City Chiefs have waived running back and former first-round pick Clyde Edwards-Helaire.
The Chiefs announced this on Monday afternoon. Shortly before the announcement, Edwards-Helaire released a statement on social media addressing the Chiefs, Kansas City and the team’s fans.
“I love you KC!” Edwards-Helaire wrote. “A family I never knew I needed, you all made the dreams of a Kid from Baton Rouge come true! To Chiefs Kingdom: It’s all love and the support I’ve had through tough times will forever be unmatched by you! With love!
I love you KC! A family I never knew I needed, you made a Kid from Baton Rouge’s dreams come true!
To Chiefs Kingdom: It’s all love and the support I had during tough times will forever be unmatched by you! With love! ❤️ 💛-Clydro✌🏾
— GLYDE (@Clydro_22) December 16, 2024
The Chiefs selected Edwards-Helaire with the 32nd pick of the first round of the 2020 draft. He was the first running back drafted that year after a standout career at LSU as an All-SEC running back for the Tigers team 2019 that won a national championship on a historic offense featuring future NFL stars Joe Burrow, Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr. Pursuit.
Edwards-Helaire had a standout rookie season with Kansas City in 2020, racking up 1,100 yards from scrimmage and five touchdowns as a running back for a Chiefs team that went 13-1 in a COVID-shortened campaign and advanced to the Super Bowl, won by Tampa Tom Brady’s Bay Buccaneers.
Edwards-Helaire played three more seasons with the Chiefs, winning Super Bowls in each of the past two seasons. But his role and his production declined each season after his rookie campaign, and he lost his starting job in 2022 to then-rookie Isiah Pacheco.
The Chiefs placed Edwards-Helaire on the non-football illness list on September 2, ahead of their season opener, and he has not played a game this season. Edwards-Helaire previously announced on July 29 that he suffers from PTSD.
Living with PTSD is no easy feat, it is difficult and very overwhelming. I’ve had a lot of flare-ups this past month and the wonderful staff here at the #Chiefs have helped me through difficult times.
I’ll be back next training! All love, Glydro ❤️💛— GLYDE (@Clydro_22) July 29, 2024
He talked about his condition and… told reporters days later that the PTSD has resulted in cyclic vomiting syndrome and that he must remain in the hospital.
“I have PTSD and cyclic vomiting syndrome,” he said on August 1. “So it’s a neurological thing that they just help me with and walk through it.
“Sometimes I get admitted to the hospital, something – I can’t stop throwing up. Nothing can stop it. … But it’s really, really bad dehydration, losing weight really quickly. It’s really just, mentally, just not being there .”
He said he has been dealing with PTSD since a shooting incident in 2018 while at LSU. According to Baton Rouge police, he and linebacker Jared Small were involved in a fatal shooting when someone tried to rob them at gunpoint.
Edwards-Helaire described the incident as “a self-defense situation” and prosecutors determined the shooting was an instance of justified use of force. No charges were ever filed against the players and they were released.
