Clyde Edwards-Helaire is a two-time Super Bowl champion who just signed a one-year extension with the Kansas City Chiefs. But the running back already has his sights set on a new career.
“Football is football, but I know for my profession what I want to do,” Edwards-Helaire told reporters earlier this year.
The former Louisiana State University football star’s mother worked in health care, inspiring the 2020 NFL Draft first-rounder to go back to nursing school.
“Football is just one of those things that’s kind of getting me in this position, but using my brain and me knowing what I can do on the back end, helping people, it’s close to my heart,” he said.
Edwards-Helaire’s four-season tenure with the Chiefs has had some rocky moments. The Louisiana native was never able to recapture the fiery 803-rushing-yard milestone of his rookie season, registering a career-low 223 rushing yards last year.
He accrued 2,610 scrimmage yards and 19 touchdowns with the NFL team, which does not appear to be warming up to him as of late. The Chiefs elected to not pick up his fifth-year option, choosing to sign him to a one-year deal instead.
“Just felt like I had a little bit more time at the beginning of the season, just wasn’t playing that much, so I was like, ‘Cool, I’m gonna start school,’” Edwards-Helaire told reporters in January. “Punching it and rolling through now, and it’s kind of enjoyable because it kind of feels like college. I’m not doing anything else but leaving work and then going through school stuff.”
The running back gave a brief update in February for a Chiefs TikTok post.
When asked which teammate he would let babysit his children, Edwards-Helaire, “I’m back in school for nursing, so I can handle any medical emergencies.”
With the NFL on one side and nursing school on the other, one thing is for sure: Edwards-Helaire will have his hands full this season.
“In the future, if y’all need some shots or IVs or anything, holler at your boy,” he told reporters with a smile.
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