The Kansas City Chiefs made a roster move over the weekend that makes their signing of veteran RB Samaje Perine that much more important heading into the 2024 NFL season.
On Sunday, the Chiefs placed RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire on the Reserve/Non-Football Illness list . It's a transaction that means Edwards-Helaire, who is dealing with complications related to PTSD, will miss the first four games of the season at a minimum.
Perine just signed with the Chiefs last week, but he could now end up as the team's No. 3 RB for the first four weeks of the season, if not longer.
“Samaje (Perine) is the newest member," Chiefs HC Andy Reid said last Friday. "We all know what he did to us when he was at Cincinnati with that screen play. Samaje’s done this over his career where he’s been a phenomenal third-down back, but he’s also a good runner. I think that you know that he’s really a good person. I mean, that word has traveled around the National Football League on what kind of guy he is – locker room guy and so on. We welcome that. The opportunity to have a guy in here that can do the run game and the pass game, I think he's a good well-rounded football player that’s extremely intelligent, that is a great addition that (General Manager) Brett (Veach) added to the team."
Perine could even be thrust into action alongside Isiah Pacheco and Carson Steele as early as Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season.
“Yes absolutely, yeah, I think so," Reid said. "I just have to see with (Samaje) Perine on where he’s at and picking everything up. I’m not going to put him in a bad situation obviously, but I think he’s going to be fine. He’s been in here cranking away, so we’ll see how everything goes.”
As of Sunday, Reid confirmed that Perine was cleared to play for Week 1.
How much could Perine realistically play in Week 1?
Former Chiefs RT Mitchell Schwartz weighed in on the potential for Perine to play against the Ravens in the season opener. Perine's role, as a third-down/passing running back, benefits his ability to get into the game and contribute early. The team's protection prep is a week-to-week process, as opposed to something the team installs during training camp.
Matt Nagy emphasized that the team is really learning as they go how much Perine can and can't do right away. It's all about finding the right balance for him in Week 1.
"He's super smart, a true pro, he gets it," Nagy told reporters of Perine on Monday. "We just have to balance how much."
On having to learn the playbook quickly, Perine said the following ahead of practice on Monday: "It's not ideal, but we got to make the most of it. It'll be fine."
The good news is that the opponent couldn't possibly be better for Perine when it comes to familiarity. He has seven career games against Baltimore (one start and only five games played on offense), all coming during his time with the Cincinnati Bengals. He has 29 career carries for 138 yards and a touchdown, along with eight receptions on eight targets for 82 yards. He also has three career tackles against the Ravens on special teams.
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