Will Clyde Edwards-Helaire play in Week 9 against the Green Bay Packers?
Clyde Edwards-Helaire and the Chiefs have life again in the AFC West, although neither is out of the woods. The Chiefs are 4-4 and are doing the minimum to stay in the playoff race. The team is currently only one game back in the division behind the 5-2 Las Vegas Raiders, who have their own problems. However, to have a second-season resurgence, the Chiefs need Clyde Edwards-Helaire.
Will Clyde Edwards-Helaire play on Sunday?
According to CBS Sports, the running back is fighting through an MCL injury in his knee. While the injury has been known to end seasons, Edwards-Helaire is listed as having an expected return this week. However, the running back is still on the injured reserve list.
Worth noting that Chiefs RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire still has not yet been designated to return from IR. Sure seems like we are headed towards at least one more week of Darrel Williams as the lead back in Kansas City.
At this point, with only a couple of days to prepare for the Week 9 matchup, Edwards-Helaire's odds of playing are shrinking by the hour. Coupled with a backfield that was able to produce in his stead, the Chiefs may be content not to rush him back until he is fully ready.
Find out why Clyde Edwards-Helaire needs to prove his way back into your lineup from @FieldYates and @KyleSoppeESPN: https://t.co/h61cifujFe
Another factor is that the Chiefs will be playing against a backup quarterback this week. Due to rodgers-hint-staying-green-bay-beyond-2021-season" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Aaron Rodgers' unwillingness to get vaccinated and now dealing with Covid-19 issues, the Packers will be forced to turn to Jordan Love. This will be Love's first start in the NFL.
Love was selected as the eventual replacement for Rodgers. He was picked in the first round of the Draft and has sat for the last year and a half. Even with all of the time on the bench, his first start isn't expected to be earth-shattering. Without much practice with the starters and a sudden mid-season shift to deal with, the quarterback may look out of sorts on Sunday.
As a result, the Chiefs' biggest catalyst for the game will be whether defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo can draw up a game plan to confuse Love. If he can do that and get some level of pressure, the Chiefs should be able to force interceptions and mistakes that lead to punts. If they can do this, the offense won't have to do much.
However, they may still need to play better than they did against the Giants, who held them to 20 points. As such, having Clyde Edwards-Helaire would go a long way toward giving the Chiefs peace of mind heading into the game. Unfortunately, it looks to be a long shot for Edwards-Helaire. Put simply, he will likely be ready for Week 10 if he doesn't play this weekend.