Being a football player is tough as it is. Think concussions, injuries, endless training, and the grind of game day. Now throw in life’s curveballs. It’s a different beast altogether. And Clyde Edwards-Helaire? He knows all about that. But for him, it goes beyond the public eye; he’s dealt with PTSD since 2018. And now he’s opening up, revealing raw details about an event most fans only half remember (or don’t even remember at all).

Ever heard about that sh–ting incident back when he was at LSU? Yeah, that one. For the first time, Edwards-Helaire shared the full story on The Pivot Podcast, and, man, it’s tough. Plus, he recounted being held up with teammate Jared Small, saying, “It was all of Jared’s family, all of my family… my running back coach Tommy Robertson. Jared and I got in the car with him, and they drove us to the Cook Hotel on LSU’s campus.”

However, he just was not let off to ride away with family and friends. Oh, no! Before that happened came the grilling. He described hours with detectives questioning him, saying they’d come in, ask everything, and leave him sitting alone for what felt like an eternity. “The two detectives coming in questioning me… Felt like four or five hours,” he remembered, until finally, the door swung open.

But what happened at the hotel was not for the faint-hearted. The 25-year-old recalled, “They had screwed the windows shut. Jared and I had to sit in there for 2 days. No phone, no TV… just me and him.” I mean, who’d have thought that selling a PlayStation would bring such chaos and trauma? For him and Small, it was supposed to be a quick exchange.

But it turned into something dark and tragic when an 18-year-old boy (Kobe Johnson) pulled a g-n on them, pressing it to Jared’s head. In those split seconds, Edwards-Helaire, as he recalled, was in a state of conflict, “Either I’m about to watch my best friend lose his life or do something about it.” And we know he chose the latter.

Edwards-Helaire had a concealed firearm and shot Johnson, killing him. Justifiable force, the prosecutor would later say, and neither he nor Small faced charges. But clearing his mind? Yeah, it wasn’t easy for the now-Chiefs RB, as you can understand. Since that day, he has been open about the PTSD it left him with. Sleepless nights, nausea (that landed him in the hospital), and even missing Chiefs practices. Now, for the first time, he has finally shared it unfiltered. And through it all, he mentioned how his new teammates and coaching staff have been supportive of him in his recovery phase.

How has Kansas treated Clyde Edwards-Helaire

It’s been a wild ride for Clyde Edwards-Helaire, with Kansas City as the backdrop for an off-field battle he didn’t expect. Imagine carrying a physical and emotional load on and off the field. When the draft came in, it was numbers and plays that earned him the ticket to Andy Reid’s Chiefs, but there was always more to his story. Moreso, a way to find himself after four years of what he calls a “complete roller coaster.”

On the podcast, he opened up about the toll his past has taken. “Even though you can have a great career on the grass, you don’t get to wear the helmet in your everyday life,” NFL vet Ryan Clark perfectly set the tone. For Edwards-Helaire, that helmet has been a lifeline. “The only time that I would feel myself was when I was putting on the helmet,” he said. Can you imagine that—the field being your only escape? Where you shed your blood, sweat, and tears? He was venting out.

But throughout all this how Coach Andy Reid and the medical staff entered his life? They took a bench and put it in his corner while knowing exactly what he was dealing with and offered their full support. But it hasn’t been easy, not by a long shot. The scars run deep. He remembers being treated like a “full-blown criminal” after the incident.

We are talking: from being handcuffed to being held alone in a room with nothing but a two-way mirror that made him feel “broken.” Chiefsdom cheered him on Sundays, but few realized the weight he had been carrying. It was the frustration taking the form of toughness on the gridiron that the fans were lauding.

Now? Edwards-Helaire says he’s finally finding peace, doing better than he has in years, mentally and physically. His message to anyone facing their own battles? “You can wake up every morning and get through,” said the RB. While KC’s power of friendship is helping the team bask in the celebration of flaunting the SB rings, it’s also helping the 25-year-old get over his past.