Who knows what happens in the 2024-25 Super Bowl if the Kansas City Chiefs have a healthy Rashee Rice lining up alongside Travis Kelce and company.
It’s easy to forget that Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs were without their star wide receiver for the majority of the 2024 campaign, calling upon veterans like JuJu Smith-Schuster and DeAndre Hopkins in his place.
Rice has not played since Week 4 of last year — a game he left after just four offensive snaps and a freak injury that occurred after a Mahomes interception and an errant tackling attempt. But on April 1, The Kansas City Star’s Sam McDowell relayed an injury update live from the NFL owner’s meeting and head coach Andy Reid himself.
“Rashee Rice is ‘on track’ to be ready for training camp, Andy Reid said when asked by The Star at the NFL meetings,” McDowell reported.
In an accompanying article, the KC beat reporter noted a follow-up quote from Reid, who expressed that Rice is “working his tail off right now.”
Rice underwent surgery to repair the LCL in his right knee last October. If he’s ready for training camp, that should provide the Chiefs with a massive boost heading into Week 1.
Chiefs Beat Reporter Reminds Fans of Rashee Rice’s Impact Before Knee Injury
“Rice was leading the NFL in receptions through three weeks before the collision with his quarterback. He was second in yards,” McDowell reminded in his article. Adding: “But the story of his impact — the story of what the Chiefs lost — is not solely in his production. It’s the type of production.”
“We have talked for years about how defensive coordinators are playing a Mahomes and Reid offense — for years only because, well, it’s been relevant for years,” the reporter explained. “After his 5,000-yard, 50-touchdown season, defenses almost in unison decided to take away the deep throws and make Mahomes beat them short. Make him stay patient.”
Rice gave Kansas City that short-yardage threat opposite Kelce — who has also thrived in those open pockets of the defense.
McDowell went on to point out that Rice was second only to Detroit Lions star Amon-Ra St. Brown during his rookie season in a very specific stat: converting receptions into first downs on “passes thrown behind the line of scrimmage [combined with passes] thrown within the initial 10 yards.”
In fact, McDowell wrote that “Rice was the top-graded wide receiver among throws behind the line of scrimmage [in 2023], per PFF. He led the NFL in catches and yards on those throws and turned more of them into first downs than any other player.”
It can be difficult to replicate that sort of skillset, which Reid likened to a “tough, big [and] physical” running back once he has the ball in his hands.
Chiefs WR Rashee Rice Still Faces Potential NFL Punishment for ‘Involvement in High-Speed Crash’
Even if Rice does return in time for Week 1, he could miss some time in 2025 if his legal proceedings are finally carried out this calendar year.
“It’s evident that Rice is facing a league suspension for his involvement in a high-speed crash last summer,” McDowell stated. “The NFL waits for cases to resolve themselves before suspending players. His case has not yet been resolved.”
It remains to be seen just how many games Rice might be suspended for, although some believe the penalty would likely be a lower number of games being that the KC wideout is a first-time offender.
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