Rashee Rice is feared to have suffered a torn ACL in his right knee, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter, after the Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver collided with quarterback Patrick Mahomes during Sunday’s 17-10 win against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Rice will have an MRI on Monday.
“I’m sure it’s not as good of news as we want,” Reid said after the Chiefs improved to 4-0.
Rice’s injury is the latest to jolt the Chiefs and their hopes for a high-scoring offense. Another of their wide receivers, Hollywood Brown, suffered a sternoclavicular injury on the first play of the preseason and will miss most if not all of the 2024 season.
Running back Isiah Pacheco broke his leg in Week 2 and is also on injured reserve, though he could return later in the season.
Rice suffered the injury after colliding with Mahomes while trying to recover a Chargers fumble during an interception return. Both of Rice’s knees took an impact in his collision with Mahomes, and the receiver’s right knee appeared to hyperextend. He was helped off the field and had his knee examined by medical personnel on the sideline before being taken to the locker room on a cart.
Rice entered Week 4 leading the league in catches with 24 and second in yards with 288.
In his absence, the Chiefs got big contributions from tight end Travis Kelce, running back Kareem Hunt and wide receiver Xavier Worthy.
Kelce had his first big game of the season with seven catches for 89 yards, passing Tony Gonzalez to become the Chiefs’ all-time leader in receptions.
Hunt, in his first game with the Chiefs six years after being cut, led the team in rushing with 69 yards. Worthy caught a 54-yard pass from Mahomes for Kansas City’s first touchdown.
“The guys stepped up and filled in as good as they can the role that [Rice] has in our offense, which is a big one,” Mahomes said. “All we can do now is go back to the basics and try to get guys opportunities to succeed.
“With Rashee going out early, you’ve got to put Kelce back in that situation where he is getting high-volume catches. Then just with the Chargers taking away some of the outside stuff and leaving the middle of the field open and we were able to get Trav in some of those zone coverages.
“The whole Kelce thing in general hasn’t been a worry to me. I know whenever we need him he’s going to make plays, and that’s what he did today.”
Hunt gave some life to the Chiefs’ running game after rookie starter Carson Steele lost a fumble for the second time in three games. Reid said Hunt got most of the work after the fumble because he was the “hot hand,” but indicated he wouldn’t hesitate to use Steele in upcoming games.
Mahomes said Hunt looked much like the player who led the NFL in rushing in 2017.
“He’s always been a guy that runs tough,” Mahomes said. “He’s hard to tackle and you could see that and he’s going to make sure he finishes every single run and falls forward.
“For someone to come into an offense — I know it’s an offense he’d been in, but an offense he hadn’t played in years — and to be able to run the football hard, get well earned yards, catch the ball out of the backfield, it was good to see. And I’m just glad [general manager Brett] Veach built a great running back room that we can get guys to step up and make plays while Isiah’s not here.”
