As the Kansas City Chiefs prepare for their upcoming season-opening showdown against the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night, it sounds like the team will be without one of its running backs.
On Monday, the Kansas City Chiefs placed running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire on the non-football illness (NFI) due to post-traumatic stress disorder. This means that he will miss at least the first four games of the day, including Thursday’s season-opener against the Baltimore Ravens.
“We all have different things that we go through and Clyde is such a special person. He’s a great human being.” Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said. “I think, number one, everybody in this building wants to make sure that Clyde is good on that side and that he’s happy and enjoying everything that he does because when he’s when he’s in the building, he’s phenomenal.”
Last month, Edwards-Helaire opened up a little bit about his struggle with PTSD.
“Sometimes I’m admitted into the hospital, something like I can’t stop throwing up,” Edwards-Helaire said. “The only person who kind of put me in the right direction was [Chiefs assistant athletic trainer] Julie Frymyer.”
Edwards-Helaire indicated that the PTSD stems from the fact that he has lost friends to gun violence in the past and that in 2018 he faced “a self-defense situation” himself.
“Everybody goes through things,” Edwards-Helaire said. “Good, bad, just being able to cope with it, just being human. At 25 years old I’m just trying to live the rest of my life healthy.”
It seems that he is now taking some time to prioritize his health.
