After being drafted in the first round No. 32 overall by the Kansas City Chiefs back in 2020, Clyde Edwards-Helaire has seen his stock drop slowly but surely.
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His fall from grace can be attributed to his tough luck with injuries. However, another important factor is CEH’s battle with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Thankfully for CEH, he has had a support system around him all this time: his teammates. The running back went on Ryan Clark’s The Pivot podcast and opened up about his struggles and which teammates have been there for him the most:
“There’s only two people that I’ve sat down and had real conversations with. Kadarius Toney and Travis Kelce… Travis is… real, real heartfelt. Probably not the most religious person but he’s going to speak whatever he feels at the time… The amount of time I was spending with Travis was unreal. I mean, I really look at him as a big brother and… I needed somebody to lean on.”
CEH’s battle with PTSD comes from a 2018 incident in which a street electronics sale went wrong. Edwards-Helaire and a teammate, Jared Small, met a young man to discuss a sale. When the man pulled a gun, one of the teammates pulled their own firearm and fatally shot the man.
Authorities never revealed whether it was Edwards-Helaire or Small who fired the shot, but CEH has dealt with PTSD ever since. The problem has flared up more recently, as the former LSU Tiger has yet to make his 2024 season debut.
Despite his busy schedule, which includes his own media engagements as well as his pop star girlfriend, and his football responsibilities, he has found the time to be there for a younger teammate like Clyde Edwards-Helaire when they need him. CEH revealed how Travis kept him company during his debut year as well:
“The only person that’ll do those things and make sure and reach out and text me on random days, was Travis… He was real aware of his surroundings, and I felt comfortable with him… He was somebody that I could vent to, and it didn’t get any better than that. I’ve been with the Chiefs five years, and he’s probably been my best friend since I walked in the door.”
Edwards-Helaire also spoke about how Kelce’s nickname for him, Good Brother Clyde (GBC), resonated with him. He appreciated that Kelce recognized what kind of person he was, and the nickname speaks to that.
Kelce praised Edwards-Helaire for his strength and courage
After The Pivot posted a clip of Edwards-Helaire’s appearance on the show, Kelce responded. As you might expect, he had nothing but good things to say about CEH.
“GBC!! My good brotha for life! Y’all gotta tune into this one. One of the strongest men I know!”
Originally brought in to be the new starting RB for K.C., Edwards-Helaire started 13 games as a rookie and put up over 1,000 yards from scrimmage. Since then, he has missed many games, and in 2022, Isiah Pacheco usurped his spot as RB1.
The team removed CEH from the NFI list recently and added him to the active roster. However, he has yet to suit up for the Chiefs this year, and when he will make his season debut remains up in the air.
Unfortunately for Kansas City, Pacheco has also been unavailable for most of the season. The third-year back suffered a fractured fibula in Week 2 and his return this year remains questionable. There is some hope that he could be back in December or for the postseason.
The Chiefs brought Kareem Hunt back to lead the backfield in the interim. Late-round pick Carson Steele and veteran third-down specialist Samaje Perine are also in the mix.
Kelce has been dealing with his own, much more minor, problems on the field this year. He had 35 or fewer yards in five of his first six games but has since turned it around. He is now coming off back-to-back 10+ reception performances, the first time he’s done that since 2018.
