Kansas City Chiefs star wide receiver Rashee Rice is on the mend, and apparently, he’s coming along a little faster than expected.
He announced in an Instagram story that he posted Monday morning that he’s been approved to start running route trees, a major step forward in his recovery from LCL surgery.
Rashee Rice Is Hyped About Clearance To Run Full Speed
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid told The Kansas City Star two days ago that Rice was progressing well, going so far as to say he should be available when training camp starts. This is great news for the Chiefs’ offense, which has been without Rice since a Week 4 win against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Now, after putting in months of rehab work, consistent workouts, and sweat equity, Rice has reached the point where he’s allowed to run, make cuts, and work on his route running. That’s a huge step forward.
Rice took to Instagram to announce his progress, “They just cleared the kid for route treee!!!! Thank you to the man up aboveee!”
Prior to going down, Rice was a rising star in the NFL and was a significant contributor to their run to winning Super Bowl LVIII, catching 26 passes in the postseason. He set franchise rookie in both receptions (79) and touchdowns (seven) and established himself as a receiver capable of taking the top off of a defense.
The 2023 second-round pick entered the ’24 regular season pegged as one of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ most dangerous targets. He proved it in the season opener against the Baltimore Ravens with seven receptions for 103 yards in a 27-20 win.
It all came crashing down in Week 4 against the Chargers when, while chasing down a defender after an interception, Mahomes rolled up on Rice’s leg, tearing the receiver’s lateral collateral ligament. The injury ended his season and helped lead to Kansas City trading for DeAndre Hopkins to fill the void. Hopkins has since signed a one-year, $5 million contract with the Baltimore Ravens.
However, Rice’s bright future is clouded due to legal issues surrounding a hit-and-run incident in April of 2024. The case has not gone to trial yet, so a multi-game league-imposed suspension is a possibility at some point.
Regardless, Rice is moving forward very quickly, and if he’s expected to be ready for training camp, he may well be at full strength for the start of the regular season. With Rice, Xavier Worthy, and Hollywood Brown, Mahomes would have one of the fastest and most versatile trios of wide receivers in the league.
Through 20 regular-season games in his career, Rice has had 103 receptions for 1,226 yards with nine touchdowns.