Injuries have hit the Kansas City Chiefs offense hard through the first five weeks of the 2024 NFL season. While quarterback Patrick Mahomes is still upright, the two-time MVP will be forced to proceed without several key weapons.
Wide receiver Rashee Rice represents K.C.’s most significant loss. The second-year pass catcher suffered a knee injury early in the Chiefs’ Week 4 win against the Los Angeles Chargers. Since then, reports regarding the specifics of Rice’s injury and his potential return timetable have been all over the place.
Kansas City now appears to have clarity on the severity of Rice’s knee injury and when he’ll be able to play again. How long will Rice be out?
Rashee Rice Injury Update
Rice was injured on a Mahomes interception in Week 4. The former forced Chargers cornerback Kristian Fulton to fumble, but Mahomes appeared to take out Rice’s right knee while trying to make a tackle (to add insult to injury, Fulton’s fumble and the Chiefs’ ensuing recovery were eventually overturned).
After allowing the swelling in his knee to abate, Rice underwent an arthroscopic knee procedure on Monday, Oct. 7. That operation yielded positive news, indicating that, while Rice needed an LCL repair, he may not have damaged any other ligaments.
The following day, Rice had surgery on his LCL and his hamstring tendon, according to NFL insider Jordan Schultz. However, Rice avoided tears or damage to his ACL or meniscus. Schultz called Rice’s operation “the best-case scenario.”
After the surgery, Rice posted on social media a photo of his knee in a brace with the caption “Rise & Shine”.
While Rice’s recovery timeline will be shorter than expected, he will still be sidelined for the rest of the 2024 campaign. A three-to-four-month rehabilitation plan might be considered optimistic for Rice, and even that would rule him out through the Super Bowl.
The Chiefs officially placed Rice on injured reserve on Oct. 3, before they were certain he’d miss the rest of the season. He’ll reside on the injured list for the remainder of the year.
On Oct. 14, head coach Andy Reid offered details on Rice’s knee procedure.
“His surgery was not his ACL,” Reid said. “It was the posterolateral corner. There was damage there.
“It’s probably the same result, though, as you’d get time-wise for an ACL. It takes a while for that to come back. He’ll get into his rehab and get rolling on that as we go here.”
Rice is facing an NFL suspension after being served with eight felony charges stemming from a high-speed hit-and-run in March 2024. Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reported that Rice may try to serve his pending ban while injured.
Kansas City’s underneath passing strategy has benefitted Rice, who entered Week 4 leading the league with 23 receptions and 3.39 yards per route run. While he’d only averaged 5.21 air yards per route, Rice had made up for his lack of depth by averaging 7.8 yards after the catch, fourth-best among wideouts.
Rice’s injury was the latest in a long line of health blows that the Chiefs have taken this year. Wideout Hollywood Brown — whom K.C. signed to a one-year deal this offseason — suffered a preseason shoulder injury and won’t play in 2024. Running back Isiah Pacheco broke his fibula in Week 2 and is out indefinitely.
Who’s Playing WR for the Chiefs?
Rice went down early in Week 4, so the Chiefs have had essentially two full games to determine their new wide receiver pecking order.
Over the past two games, Justin Watson has led Kansas City’s wideouts with 97 offensive snaps. First-round rookie Xavier Worthy is at 96, and recent signing JuJu Smith-Schuster has 83.
SEE MORE: Kansas City Chiefs Depth Chart
However, Watson is primarily running wind sprints and clear-out routes. Over the past two weeks, he’s only been targeted on 5.4% of his routes.
Smith-Schuster, who put up a 78-933-3 line for the Chiefs in 2021 and re-signed in August after being cut by the New England Patriots, leads the club’s wideouts with a 16.7% target rate over the past two weeks. He hauled in seven catches for 130 yards in Week 5, putting up his best performance in nearly two years.
Tight end Travis Kelce has been the fantasy beneficiary of Rice’s absence through two weeks. After earning just 13% of Mahomes’ targets while on the field in Weeks 1-3, Kelce is back on top of the Chiefs’ pass-catching depth chart. His target share doubled to 26% over the past two games. Kelce finished as a top-five fantasy TE in both matchups despite not scoring a touchdown in either contest.
