Getty Images Running back Elijah McGuire was drafted by the Jets in the sixth round in 2017.
The Kansas City Chiefs appear to be exploring contingency plans at running back with rookie standout Clyde Edwards-Helaire likely out for the remainder of the regular season after suffering scary-looking ankle and hip injuries late in Sunday’s win.
According to ESPN NFL insider Field Yates, the defending Super Bowl champions could turn to a familiar face to potentially provide some depth at the position, with plans to host RB Elijah McGuire for a visit this week.
Following am injury to Clyde Edwards-Helaire, the Chiefs will be bringing in RB Eli McGuire for a visit. He spent the end of last season with them and was waived at the start of this regular season. Potential depth.
Update: The Chiefs have officially signed McGuire to their practice squad on Tuesday, per the NFL’s official transaction report for December 22.
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McGuire Spent Time With Chiefs in 2019-20
The 26-year-old back offers recent experience in Andy Reid’s offense, having spent the better part of last season with the Chiefs after signing on to the practice squad in November 2019. McGuire earned himself a future/reserve contract following the team’s Super Bowl LIV victory in February, but was later released as a part of final 53-man roster cuts in September.
McGuire most recently spent a week with the Miami Dolphins, signing to the practice squad after a tryout just days before the team’s Week 14 matchup against the Chiefs. Miami elevated the fourth-year back to the active roster for the AFC showdown, joining another ex-Chiefs RB DeAndre Washington, but he did not see the field and was cut the following day. Prior to that McGuire also had a two-month stint on the Dallas Cowboys practice squad before being cut back on October 28.
The 5-foot-10, 214-pounder was originally drafted by the New York Jets in the sixth round (No. 188 overall) in 2017, where he compiled 961 scrimmage yards (591 rushing), 36 receptions and six touchdowns in 24 games across his first two professional seasons.
While his 3.3 yards per carry career average doesn’t inspire a whole lot of enthusiasm on the surface, McGuire is a dual-threat option out of the backfield who was plagued by a porous offensive line — and offense as a whole — in New York, which only paved the way for the league’s fifth-fewest yards per game (305.3) in 2017 and fourth-fewest (299.2) in 2018.
Should Kansas City deem him fit to sign once again, McGuire is a likely candidate to return to the practice squad where he’ll be a depth option behind All-Pro Le’Veon Bell, third-year backup Darrel Williams and 2019 sixth-rounder Darwin Thompson, all currently on the active roster.
Andy Reid Updates Status of Mitchell Schwartz, Eric Fisher
After allowing a season-high 11 quarterback hits and four sacks on Patrick Mahomes in New Orleans, the reshuffled Kansas City offensive line has drawn the ire of Chiefs Kingdom. The team has now allowed seven sacks in the past two games, but that can be partially attributed to the overall health of the unit, which saw starting LT Eric Fisher battle through 98 snaps with a tight back on Sunday and has been without counterpart RT Mitchell Schwartz since injuring his back in Buffalo in Week 6.
During his Monday press conference, head coach Andy Reid provided an update on both bookends, starting with Schwartz.
“Yeah, he’s actually feeling a little bit better,” Reid told reporters, via Kansas City Star’s Herbie Teope. “Not all the way back, but he is feeling a little bit better and we’ll just see I mean, we will take it – he’s a great communicator so we know he wants to play but just want to make sure you know that he’s ok and I kind of leave that up to the docs and Rick (Burkholder) on that and then obviously Mitch so. I don’t know that.
“We’re just kind of taking it day by day, week by week literally, and so we’re just seeing how he does here. Hopefully it calms down by then or whenever and he can get himself back out there. I mean, that’s what we’d like, but we’ll see how that all goes.”
This marks the second time this month that Reid has been asked for an update on the 31-year-old All-Pro and hasn’t been able to provide much of a timetable for return. At this point in the season, it’s likely a safe bet that Schwartz will be held out until at least the Chiefs’ first postseason game, which if the playoffs were to start today, wouldn’t be played until the AFC Divisional Round on January 16 or 17.
The news on Fisher was a bit more substantive, however, even noting that the former No. 1 overall pick also sustained a hamstring injury during the game.
“Yeah so Fish, he missed a couple practices this week so he kind of pushed himself through with his back and you know his hamstring tightened up,” Reid said on Monday. “He had these things happen during the game. He didn’t say anything, he kind of just rolls with it and then after the game you find this out. So, I think those things were affecting him a little bit.”
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Chris Licata is an NFL contributor covering the Kansas City Chiefs from enemy territory in Denver, Colorado. Follow him on Twitter @Chris__Licata or join the Heavy on Chiefs Facebook community for the latest out of Chiefs Kingdom!