Whereas the Kansas City Chiefs are nonetheless figuring out the severity of Rashee Rice’s knee harm, their newest transfer sheds some mild on the way forward for the second-year vast receiver.
Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Chiefs positioned Rice on injured reserve Thursday, which means he’ll miss at the least 4 video games.
In a 17-10 Week 4 win over the Los Angeles Chargers (2-2), Rice collided with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who was making an attempt to sort out Chargers cornerback Kristian Fulton after he intercepted the QB. Rice was then carted off the sphere. Following the victory, Schefter reported that the Chiefs feared he tore his ACL.
Earlier this week, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid confirmed Rice will miss Monday’s house sport vs. the New Orleans Saints (2-2). In his Thursday news conference, Reid stated the Chiefs are in “wait-and-see mode” as a result of they plan to do extra testing when the swelling in Rice’s knee goes down.
“For his sake, we’re actually hoping issues work out for one of the best, however let’s simply see the place it goes,” Reid said. “Go away it as much as the docs to see. I am undoubtedly not a health care provider.”
If Rice misses the remainder of the season, that may be a expensive blow for Ok.C. (4-0) and its Tremendous Bowl probabilities. By way of 4 video games, Rice leads the group in receptions (24), receiving yards (288) and landing catches (two). Per Pro Football Focus, he has 185 yards after the catch, the third-highest mark within the league.
With Rice out of the lineup in opposition to the Saints, the Chiefs could enhance rookie vast receiver Xavier Worthy’s workload. Within the Week 4 win over L.A., he caught a 54-yard TD cross. Based on ESPN’s Adam Teicher, the ball traveled 54 yards by way of the air, the longest distance in Mahomes’ profession.
Do not be shocked if the Chiefs purchase one other WR earlier than the commerce deadline on Nov. 5, maybe DeAndre Hopkins (Tennessee Titans) or Amari Cooper (Cleveland Browns).
Over the past two seasons, Ok.C. dealt for a WR earlier than the deadline handed (Kadarius Toney in 2022 and Mecole Hardman Jr. in 2023). The Chiefs ought to contemplate doing it once more to make sure they’ve sufficient depth at WR.