Exclusive: Former Cardinals standout teases Hollywood ambitions, but he’s not done with NFL just yet

If journeyman running back Chase Edmonds never plays another snap, he’s already had a longer career than most players. The 30-year-old has spent eight years in the NFL, five more than the average player and even more for tailbacks, per Colts.com. He’s played 83 regular-season games and three playoff contests across tenures with the Arizona Cardinals, Miami Dolphins, Denver Broncos, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Washington Commanders.

Unfortunately for Edmonds, there’s no guarantee that he’ll suit up in 2026 and beyond. The 2018 fourth-round pick is still a free agent after playing three games for the Commanders last season, who signed him after fellow running back Austin Ekeler tore his Achilles.

Edmonds’ career lost momentum after a stroke of bad luck. The Pennsylvania native missed the entire 2024 campaign due to a knee injury in training camp with the Buccaneers, so he hasn’t played a full season since 2023. However, he’s used that time to enrich other areas of his life.

Edmonds founded Sceene Inc in 2023, an app connecting users to social and nightlife options around them. The 5-foot-9, 205-pounder partnered with Pro Athlete Community (PAC), an organization helping pro athletes navigate life outside of sports, to help him succeed in the technology space.

Edmonds also has Hollywood dreams. The former Fordham Ram is working on his acting skills, a journey he’s documenting on social media.

Edmonds dished about his non-football ventures and his NFL future in an exclusive interview with ClutchPoints.

Chase Edmonds Q&A

Joshua Valdez: I’ll start with your app Sceene. What do you think stands out about it?

Chase Edmonds: So the concept behind Sceene was that I was trying to eliminate fragmented decision-making for consumers. And I say “fragmented” because I feel like in today’s time, if you go to a new city and you want to go on a date night or whatever, the first thing you’re gonna do is go to TikTok. You’re gonna look at cocktail bars or dinner spots, some type of scenic spot that you can go to. Then after you go to TikTok, you say, “Okay, maybe I’ll like these three selections.”

You then probably go to OpenTable to find a reservation for those three things. So that’s the second app that you use … You get the reservation secured. You’re probably going to be drinking, so you also use Uber. Those are three distinct destinations in fragmented apps that you have to use just to finalize your decision.

I created an app that streamlined that entire process. We basically put Uber on our backend so that people could directly go to a website or to a certain location. It’s kind of like a one-stop shop with user-generated content for people to make these same decisions that they were going to TikTok, OpenTable, Facebook, or wherever else for.

Joshua Valdez: Did you integrate Uber into the app itself?

Chase Edmonds: It’s not really integrated, but my developer was able to insert a direct link to Uber … So, you would see a venue page, you click the Uber button, it takes you automatically to the Uber app with that destination already input. Then, you just order an UberX, or whatever it is. You don’t have to search up the location anymore. So it’s a streamlined process.

Joshua Valdez: Have you met anyone in PAC that helped you in the tech world?

Chase Edmonds: Man, [PAC co-founder] Chip [Paucek] really helped me out. Chip really helped me get it off the ground, to be honest. He just introduced me to so many people. And I was using Canned Spinach, which is a graphic design team, for a good portion of that. And then I met my guy Rob McIntosh out there, and he put me on to a fire developer in Canada. So, my app really looked the part, from the front end to the backend.

The one thing that I had trouble with was raising the money. When you go into venture capital, they don’t care that you’re an NFL athlete. Actually, that’s probably a negative because they want somebody that’s all the way in, 24/7, 365. So, you’re asking people to cut these checks … and marketing is everything. I had to get it out there and test the concept in small markets to see if it’s even a thing that people wanted.

Joshua Valdez: How do you balance that with your Hollywood interests?

Chase Edmonds: The tech thing is kind of on cruise control now. So my time doesn’t get taken up by that. With acting, here’s how I see it. I’m going into year nine [in the NFL]; hopefully I can get a call. I work out every single morning,  and that’s what I would be doing if I was a football player. So about the first four hours of my morning, it’s still dedicated to football, working out, staying in shape.

The rest of the day, though … I try to tell younger guys, and I’ve seen it being a younger player, and older guys do it the right way. The last thing you want to feel like is that you need [football] … I’ve seen older guys scratch and claw, trying to play another year because they need the check, because they need to feed their family.

I didn’t make a ton of money in my career. I had a nice little second contract, but to be able to use your money wisely and not feel that absolute pressure … Let me sit back for a minute, because realistically, I’m at the tail-end of my career. Maybe I’ll play one more year by the grace of God, who knows? Let me figure out who Chase Edmonds the man is. Because when this is over, life comes at you real fast.

So I explored different options. I did a broadcast bootcamp, which, humbly, I crushed. But I wanted to play another year, so I didn’t take any job offers because I didn’t want to go out on a season-ending injury. That following year, which was this past offseason, I went to a film workshop, and I did really well in that. Then, I had a realization … I was like, “Damn, I can always do something in broadcasting. I can always hit somebody up, get on a podcast, start getting back on TV and talk. It’s just something I’m naturally good at.”

This acting thing, though … It reminded me of chasing the dream of making the NFL. Like whenever my NFL career is officially over, I’ll be leaving one hard industry and going right into another, and I love that chase. I love learning more about myself mentally and emotionally.

My private acting coach sits me down and says, “You’ve been playing this game in this field where you had to suppress certain emotions; it’s always been a weakness. It’s always been that thing that you had to avoid, but in acting, you weaponize that. You bring them in, you take them on, and you learn how to turn that into an art and a display to somebody.”

I love it, bro. I love being in front of that camera … people don’t even know what actors have to do to get themselves in that space and play a character that someone else, who has no relation to this character or no relation to the actor, can believe and get emotionally invested in. It’s fire.

Joshua Valdez: Which actors or films/TV shows inspire you?

Chase Edmonds: Yeah man, that’s a good question. It’s funny because I used to have, I don’t want to say a negative opinion of this first guy, but when my acting coach told me, “You should find somebody that you see yourself in and has played roles that you would want to play, and watch their entire filmography.” I’m a fan of Will Smith, but I didn’t … ignorant me, because I didn’t know enough about the industry. I would hate on actors that had flops, and I feel like sometimes he has other flops. Like, he has great movies, but he also has a few flops.

But looking at his personality and just looking at his range of how he can act, I see myself like Will Smith, because I am charismatic. I could definitely do the funny action film, but then he also did dramatic performances like Pursuit of Happyness and I Am Legend…

So Will Smith is one. I also love Michael B. Jordan, especially after his performance in Sinners. Also Daniel Kaluuya; he’s super talented. So, those are my guys, as well as Leonardo DiCaprio. I think Leo is fire. Another one is Timothée Chalamet. If you haven’t seen Marty Supreme, go see it.

Joshua Valdez: What do you like about that movie?

Chase Edmonds: Bro, it’s active. And I like the story; the director did a great job … I just love when things escalate to another level. You think, “Okay, this is it. Like, this is capped off. There’s no way it can get worse.” He somehow finds a way to make it worse. I just love the emotions that he went through in that, and how he just took over every scene. It was, it was fire, bro.

It was one of those movies too, where like when I watched the previews on YouTube, I thought, “I ain’t gonna watch this. I don’t think I’m interested in this.” And then one of my guys, he’s an actor, he told me to watch that because it was a hell of a performance. So I tuned in, and I said, “Damn, this is really good.”

Joshua Valdez: Have you noticed any similarities between acting and football? For example, you mentioned that actors can have movies that flop, but athletes can also have bad games or seasons.

Chase Edmonds: Oh, yeah, obviously you can have a bad game. With actors, you can build a movie that’s just a bad movie, but I wouldn’t know that it’s going to be bad, whether it’s because of the director or storyline. You start to see the cinematography, and you’re like, “This ain’t gonna be it.” But I think actors would probably get killed more for having a bad performance.

With athletes, you might have a bad game because it’s a chaotic environment. You’ve got dudes trying to tackle you, hit you, block your shot, or guard you. With acting, your scene partners do have to give you something, but at the end of the day, that camera … It’s the same thing with sports; the film ain’t going to lie, but that camera’s really not going to lie, bro. I can see your face … Like, are you really mad? Or just kind of hurt?

Joshua Valdez: Right. And as far as the NFL goes, you mentioned that you’re still trying to play. Are you confident that a team will call you?

Chase Edmonds: I am, because two years ago I tore my knee a little bit and missed the entire season. That’s what put me behind the eight ball. Tearing your knee in training camp as an older running back and not being able to get any film at all … Then I got signed the following year to Washington in Week 2. Then it just so happened that the other running backs played really well, and I just didn’t really get an opportunity to get called up. I got called up for three games, but it was mostly for kickoff returns. And that was that. Like, that’s just how the game works sometimes.

So I feel like I’m gonna have to wait into the season for some people to go down, and maybe I get a workout or two. I’m definitely in shape, and I know I can ball. So, I’ll take advantage of that opportunity if it comes, and I am hopeful for it, because I have a friend who didn’t get signed until Week 10 last year.

I think it’s important to find gratitude in every situation. Right now, I’m learning a lot about myself and exploring what I like while also staying ready and prepared. So if that call does come, then I’ll be grateful and take advantage. But if not, I’m confident that I’m in a certain position already where I have something that I can chase and keep my mind busy and not dwell on it, because I had a chapter in my life where all I did was regret, and that’s not a good energy to put yourself in.

Joshua Valdez: Lastly, is that your advice to athletes who are in your position who maybe just got hurt or are trying to find themselves? To chase something outside of sports?

Chase Edmonds: Again, I think my situation is a little different because God has been good to me; I got to play eight years in the NFL. I know for younger guys, maybe they’re not in the same situation; they’re trying to get on the team. You gotta keep the main thing the main thing, but also you cannot let it engulf you. These teams only want players who are about football only, and that’s what comes with the business. It’s a double-edged sword, but I think mental health is the most important factor.

You know, this past year alone, I lost three, four teammates to suicide. I lost another teammate that I got drafted with to suicide two-and-a-half, three years ago. I mean, none of these guys were over 32. I’m 30, you know? Some of these guys are 26, 28, and it’s a problem. I think the NFL Players’ Association, whoever is in charge, gotta find more ways to help us out.

But that’s enough reason right there to really have honest conversations with yourself. Like, “Man, who am I? Not just Chase the football player, who am I? What do I want to do? What am I good at? What am I not good at? What do I want to get good at?” Be that example for other people. Things didn’t pan out how I wanted in my professional career; it hardly ever does for 99% of us anyway, unless you’re one of one. But life goes on, and you gotta roll with the punches. You got to figure it out. You gotta have a village and have a tight-knit crew that you can talk to. That’s my advice to those guys, man. Nobody ever knows when their last snap or year is going to be again, unless you’re the exception. That’s just how it is.

Something else that really helped me was having my two best friends in the league, Christian Kirk and Trent Sherfield, who are still playing in training camp right now. Find two guys; it should always be three total. Find two guys that you see yourself in, who want to do it the right way, who want to be pros and have a long career, and stay around those guys 24/7. Push each other when one has a bad day, pick them up when the other one has a bad day. It builds that muscle memory of creating great habits, because you’re never gonna be on the same team forever … So that no matter what locker room you go to, you don’t need anybody else to show you what to do, because you already have that habitual nature to do things the right way and be a pro.