Last season, Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice’s injury ended his year early.
Football injuries remain the byproduct of the sport’s physical nature. Not to mention the practices and drilling needed to play the sports at the highest level. Many players can count the days they emerge from a season pain-free.
After suffering an early-season, year-ending injury to his knee in 2024, can the wideout return in time to give his team a much-needed boost?
Chiefs WR Rashee Rice Will Fully Participate in Training Camp
If you look around, no one will ever pity the Chiefs. With three Super Bowls and an endless stream of awards and accolades. Kansas City made itself into a team other fans despise. Winning embitters those who can’t. However, when a Chiefs player suffered a season-ending injury, the on-field enmity stopped for a second.
During a Week 4 game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Rice collided with quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The collision damaged Rice’s lateral collateral ligament (LCL) inside of his right knee. Two hundred and sixty-three days later, Chiefs senior team reporter Matt McMullen tweeted an update on Rice’s status: “Josh Simmons and Rashee Rice are ready to go for training camp, per Coach [Andy] Reid. Great news.”
Josh Simmons and Rashee Rice are ready to go for training camp, per Coach Reid. Great news.
— Matt McMullen (@KCChiefs_Matt) June 19, 2025
Before the injury, Rice tallied 24 catches for 288 yards and two touchdowns. Now, he returns to a team that desperately needs him. How can a potent offense that scored 27 points or more seven times after Rice’s injury desperately need him?
Granted, Kansas City features a perennial All-Pro quarterback (Mahomes), an elite tight end (Travis Kelce), and a game-breaking deep threat (Xavier Worthy), but the passing offense looked incomplete.
They lacked a possession receiver capable of gaining eight yards on third down. Moreover, you cannot compare Worthy and Rice, two different wideouts that win in vastly different ways. Rice thrives in the intermediate, a wideout role that catches 78.6% of his targets works well in any offense. He does not mind taking the hit on slants or dig routes. He wins with the ability to trace pristine routes.
On the other hand, Worthy will take the top off a defense with vertical patterns. Rice cooks underneath so Worthy can feast in the secondary. Plus, Mahomes trusts Rice to gain those tough yards. Down the stretch, when the team needed those catches, Mahomes occasionally forced the ball when he did not see another option.
Rice will bring order back to the Kansas City offense. Never flashy, but dependable, he keeps the team moving down the field. The deep shots aren’t always open, and teams will bracket Kelce. Rice will return to fill that role, which will make the Chiefs even more dangerous than before.