The Kansas City Chiefs and the Minnessota Vikings remain the only two undefeated sides in the NFL right now. But despite the winning streak, Patrick Mahomes is disappointed in his team’s offense. While Mahomes claims part of the fault, the rest of their offense has been pretty patchy so far too. For starters, Travis Kelce has failed to fire this season, attracting criticism. They’ve been wrecked by injury too: wide receivers Hollywood Brown and Rashee Rice are out, with shoulder and knee injuries. Offensive guard McKade Mettauer and running back Isiah Pacheco are out too, with knee injury and fibula fracture, respectively.

Luckily, an old face will be making a reappearance. Running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire will reportedly be ready to play this week. He’s a little shorter than average for a running back, and a little heavier, but he’s fast enough for the role. He could manage a 4.57s 40-yard according to his pre-draft measurable.

He’s been a part of the last two Super Bowl winning squads for the Chiefs, and he’ll mesh well with the standing team. So far, they’d made do with rookie Carson Steele and freshly signed 29-year-old Samaje Perine, formerly of the Broncos. While Perine hasn’t had time to shine on the field yet, Steele’s been pretty impressive.

The Chiefs also signed former Chief and 7-year veteran Kareem hunt to a 1 year $1.2 million deal, further padding out their roster. The Chiefs will have to figure out where to slot in Edwards-Helaire in this lineup. He’s definitely an asset. It’s apt that the Chiefs’ next game is against the New Orleans Saints, seeing as he’s a Louisiana native. But what kept him out of the spotlight and made him miss the 4 opening games this season?

What “Non-football injury” kept Clyde Edwards-Helaire out of the game?

Clyde Edwards-Helaire hasn’t had an easy time of it. You’ve read the title, so you already know he suffers from PTSD. Traumatic experiences can have a lasting impact no matter where you suffer them, and for Edwards-Helaire, he suffered one when he was in LSU. Describing his symptoms, he suffers from cyclic vomiting syndrome, where he can’t stop regurgitating for extended periods of time. This has sometimes left him dehydrated to the point where he needs to be hospitalized. Certainly no fit state to play in. So what set it off?

Back in 2018, when he studied at and played for Lousiana State University, him and an LSU teammate, Jared Small, were involved in a shooting that ended with the death of an 18-year-old, Kobe Johnson. Edwards-Hellaire was 19 at the time. The two teammates had gone to sell a non-specific “electronic item” to Johnson, according to police reports, after which the kid had tried to rob them. Matters escalated, and one of the two, it’s not been publicly disclosed who, ended up shooting Johnson to death. Neither LSU students were charged, with the shooting being judged to have been an act of self-defense.

But the memory of it has stuck with Edwards-Hellaire, and it continues to haunt him more than half a decade later. It’ll likely haunt him all his life. Earlier this year, in February, there was a shooting at a Super Bowl parade celebrating the Chiefs’ win. 33 people were injured, and a young teenager, Zach Cotten, was separated from his father, when the running back stepped up and took the boy to a safe place until things cooled down. He was later felicitated for his act of bravery. We can’t really pull together the story of someone’s life from a few snippets, but his is an interesting one, and fans will be glad to see him back on the field.