Rashee Rice is entering his fourth NFL season, but his training camp has gotten off to a rocky start. Fresh training camp footage of the Kansas City Chiefs receiver has fueled concern among fans and analysts, who don’t like what they’re seeing.
Practice Clip Raises Fresh Questions About Rashee Rice’s Recovery
A clip showing Rice running a route made the rounds on social media this week, and the reaction was swift.
One fan joked that “Rashee Rice running like Dave Portnoy good lord it’s joever.” It’s a harsh comparison, but it captures the mood among people who watched the video.
Chiefs reporter Ron Kopp Jr. shared the same footage with a more measured caption, simply noting “Rashee Rice running a Post on air.” The footage didn’t need much explanation. For many who watched it, the concern was obvious.
Rashee Rice running a Post on air pic.twitter.com/CKAEEy65kI
— Ron Kopp Jr (@RonOnChiefs) July 31, 2026
Rice, who scored a 76.3 grade on PFN’s Wide Receiver Impact Metric last season, has played just 12 games for the Chiefs over the last two seasons.
Across three years in the league, Rice has logged only 28 total appearances, racking up 156 receptions for 1,797 yards and 14 touchdowns when healthy. His talent isn’t in question, but the availability is.
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Rice missed the first six games of 2025 due to suspension stemming from a high-speed hit-and-run incident, and this offseason brought fresh complications.
A Dallas County judge handed him five years of probation and 30 days in jail, plus an order to pay $115,481.91 in restitution to his victims for medical costs. Then, in May, he underwent cleanup surgery on his right knee.
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Physical therapist and injury analyst Jeff Mueller broke down the footage with a clinical eye, writing, “Rashee Rice’s legs look so sluggish and heavy. Something to keep an eye on (I know he was in a jail cell for a while, limiting conditioning ability but still) as he continues to rehab from the knee scope procedure. Clearly not moving at 100%.”
Rashee Rice’s legs look so sluggish and heavy. Something to keep an eye on (I know he was in a jail cell for a while, limiting conditioning ability but still) as he continues to rehab from the knee scope procedure.
Clearly not moving at 100%. pic.twitter.com/l9d4Y8k2Sx— Jeff Mueller, PT, DPT (@jmthrivept) July 31, 2026
Fantasy football circles picked up on it, too. The account JRP Fantasy Football pointed to the knee surgery and said, “Rashee Rice – severe knee surgery in offseason, jailed for a month, looks like he’s running with zero fluidity in training camp. Yup, I’m gonna call him a fade.”
Meanwhile, another fantasy account, FantasyPicks, sarcastically wrote, “Bring on the discount.” The comment implies that draft boards may need to adjust Rice’s price tag downward.
Kopp reported that Rice has been leaving practice early every day to focus on rehab. Still, there’s reason for patience.
Training camp is still relatively early, and knee scopes typically don’t linger for long if recovery goes smoothly. The Chiefs have time before Week 1 to get Rice back up to speed, and plenty of players have looked rough in July only to round into shape by September.
The Chiefs are coming off a disappointing 6-11 season, and getting one of their top playmakers back at full speed is critical to their hopes of turning things around.
