Chiefs given 4 RB free agent options to sign after Patrick Mahomes injury

Billy Heyen

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Chiefs given 4 RB free agent options to sign after Patrick Mahomes injury image

The Kansas City Chiefs have to solve everything around Patrick Mahomes.

Yes, of course they need their superstar QB to return to full health at some point next season after tearing his ACL on Sunday. 

But without solutions in the rest of the offense, none of that will matter. The Chiefs went 6-8 this season with Mahomes on the field. There are plenty of issues at play.

One of them is running back. The Chiefs simply could not run the ball effectively this season.

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"While the Chiefs rank eighth in success rate on early-down designed runs over that timeframe, they're 20th in EPA per play on those carries," ESPN's Bill Barnwell writes. "The threat of Mahomes has the Chiefs running into very friendly boxes, which should make life easier for their backs. They've also had at least two Pro Bowl-caliber linemen on the interior for most of that stretch in Humphrey and Smith. Frankly, the Chiefs have settled for mediocre running back play for too long, perhaps in part because they were burned by the attempt to make a more significant investment at the position in Edwards-Helaire, who ended up being a replacement-level back."

Barnwell names four intriguing RBs who are set to be free agents:

  • Breece Hall
  • Rico Dowdle
  • Javonte Williams
  • Travis Etienne

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The Chiefs apparently tried to get Hall at the trade deadline, so maybe he'd be at the top of an offseason wish list.

But whoever it is, there's a running back out there that Kansas City needs to land. The Chiefs need to help prop Mahomes up and not force him to put the entire roster on his back, and one spot that help needs to come from is running back.

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News Correspondent