Getty Kansas City Chiefs running back Elijah McGuire is back as the franchise attempts to fill the void left by the Clyde Edwards-Helaire injury.
The Kansas City Chiefs decided to make things official and shift star running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire to the injured reserve. That means he’ll miss a minimum of three games, which would make his earliest possible return date Week 9 against the Green Bay Packers.
Chiefs placed RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire on Injured Reserve.
While the franchise has been tied to players like Marlon Mack via trade, they made a couple of corresponding moves to immediately bulk the running back room behind Darrel Williams and Jerick McKinnon.
Both are familiar faces that fans might remember from recent training camps.
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Chiefs Make Flurry of Roster Moves
For now, it appears Williams will maintain the starting role with McKinnon as his number two, being that the Chiefs have elected to promote from within. General manager Brett Veach signed preseason standout Derrick Gore from the practice squad along with offensive tackle Prince Tega Wanogho.
We’ve placed RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire on Injured Reserve
We have waived WR Daurice Fountain
We’ve activated the following Practice Squad players:
RB Derrick Gore
T Prince Tega Wanogho
No relation to Frank, Gore was originally an undrafted free agent out of Louisiana-Monroe — although he began his collegiate career at Alabama. In his best season at the NCAA level, the half-back managed 5.1 yards per carry with 21 receptions and six touchdowns (12 games).
The Syracuse native is a stocky 5-foot-10, 210 pounds. Gore has bounced around practice squads since 2019 but he’s yet to play in an NFL game. As a walk-on at Alabama, the RB profiles as a fighter that runs hard and has the ability to make contributions on special teams.
Gore was not the only rusher that Kansas City added, however. Veach didn’t leave his practice squad spot open for long, re-signing Elijah McGuire, who was with the franchise for brief stints in 2019 and 2020, as well as training camp of 2021. This August, the Chiefs parted ways with the former New York Jets sixth-round pick after an injury settlement.
He’s played in 24 career games at the NFL level with 591 rushing yards, 36 receptions (370 yards) and six total touchdowns. Veach could elect to elevate McGuire for the Week 6 battle with the Washington Football Team if needed.
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Corresponding Moves
We already mentioned that the Chiefs promoted Tega Wanogho alongside Gore. With ‘CEH’ heading to the IR, that meant one more player had to go and that ended up being wide receiver Daurice Fountain.
Kansas City signed the ex-Colts pass-catcher this spring and many supporters thought he might turn into something special in Andy Reid and Eric Bieniemy’s system, but he never ended up recording a catch for the franchise.
As for the offensive tackle that took his spot, Tega Wanogho was an intriguing prospect out of Auburn. He was a bit raw when he entered the league as a sixth-round draft pick with the Philadelphia Eagles, but the physical traits are exciting.
The 6-foot-5, 308-pound tackle has good length and mobility, excelling more out in space as a run-blocker than in pass protection. Coach Reid could use some extra depth on the offensive line with Joe Thuney dealing with a fractured hand and Kyle Long on the shelf.
Lastly, Veach signed linebacker Darius Harris to the practice squad. This is yet another return to Kansas City. The former UDFA has spent his entire professional career at different levels of the Chiefs organization. He did make contributions in 2020 with 126 snaps on defense and 58 on special teams, totaling 14 tackles, a pass defended and a fumble recovery.
The franchise could use all the help they can get on the defensive side right now, so we may see Harris elevated into a special teams/depth role once again.