(Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images)
In an unsurprising turn of events, the Kansas City Chiefs have decided to decline the fifth-year option on RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire.
The LSU product has been quite underwhelming since entering the league, failing to make the expected impact in three years as a professional.
Update: The #Chiefs are declining the 5th-year option on the contract of RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire, source tells @mattderrick
CEH was the 32nd overall pick in the 2020 Draft but lost his starting job to rookie 7th round pick Isiah Pacheco in 2022. pic.twitter.com/nHHLBoiaZy
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) May 2, 2023
For those who aren’t aware of how things work, the fifth-year option pretty much allows teams to control their first-round pick for an additional season with a fully-guaranteed salary.
Edwards-Helaire wasn’t due for a big pay raise in his fifth year anyway, as his production has been far from impressive thus far.
He’s due to carry a $3.44 million cap hit next season.
Edwards-Helaire was the No. 32 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and was expected to be a big star right away, being plugged into the league’s most explosive scorer.
Thus far, he’s struggled to make an impact due to inefficiency and injuries, logging 371 carries for 1,622 yards and 11 touchdowns with 72 receptions and six receiving touchdowns in just 33 regular-season games.
His athleticism is undeniable, but he struggles to find any gap in the running game, ceding ground to the multiple backs.
The Chiefs gave the nod to Isiah Pacheco later in the season in 2022 and he made a much bigger impact on the team, even becoming the starter in the Super Bowl.
So, with running backs becoming more expendable by the day and Pacheco looking like a potential star in the making, Edwards-Helaire’s future with the Chiefs organization seems quite bleak right now, to say the least.
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