Chiefs GM Brett Veach said Thursday that the team will wait until after the NFL Draft to make a decision on Edwards-Helaire's fifth-year option, Adam Teicher of ESPN.com reports.
It's possible the Chiefs have already made a decision internally, as it seems unlikely they'd pick up the option after the 2020 first-round pick missed 14 regular-season games the past two years and saw his role diminished even when healthy in 2022. That doesn't mean Edwards-Helaire can't be part of the team's backfield plan for 2023, but it does mean the Chiefs are unlikely to guarantee him a $5.46 million salary for 2024. The fifth-year-option deadline for 2020 first-rounders is May 3, four days after the conclusion of the 2023 NFL Draft.