Kansas City Chiefs star wide receiver Rashee Rice is still expected to miss the remainder of the 2024 season, but according to NFL insider Jordan Schultz, his October 8 surgery produced a “best case scenario” outlook for the future.
“Sources: Chiefs WR Rashee Rice underwent successful LCL surgery today with Dr. Cooper and will miss the remainder of the regular season,” Schultz informed on X. “A full recovery is expected.”
The NFL insider added that “there was also a repair done to Rice’s hamstring tendon, and I’m told there was no structural damage or tears to the ACL or meniscus, and no long-term concerns.”
Unfortunate Turn of Events Officially Ends Chiefs WR Rashee Rice’s 2024 Season
Rice was first sidelined when quarterback Patrick Mahomes II accidentally crashed into the wide receiver’s knee while attempting to tackle a defender following an interception against the Los Angeles Chargers.
The injury initially occurred in Week 4, and while the Chiefs were quick to rule Rice out for Week 5 versus the New Orleans Saints, they announced plans to perform a knee scope procedure before acknowledging that the second-year playmaker would be out for the year.
Unfortunately, that procedure determined that there was indeed LCL damage that required surgery. However, as Schultz noted, the ACL and meniscus remaining intact is a small silver lining in an otherwise disappointing turn of events.
Before his injury, Rice was on pace for a monster season. Through his first 155 offensive snaps (three starts and change), the 2023 second rounder caught 24-of-29 targets for 288 receiving yards, 15 first downs and 2 touchdowns. Mahomes had a 65.5% success rate when throwing to Rice, and the wideout was catching the ball at an 82.8% rate.
Chiefs Take Care of Saints Without Rashee Rice in Week 5 & Look Ahead to 49ers Rematch in Week 7
Kansas City has entered their bye week, which gives head coach Andy Reid a full two weeks to sort out his team’s gameplan against the San Francisco 49ers.
Having said that, the Week 7 matchup won’t necessarily be the Super Bowl rematch that was anticipated when the NFL schedule makers first circled October 20. The Chiefs will be without big names like Rice, RB Isiah Pacheco and WR Hollywood Brown, while San Francisco is currently missing RB Christian McCaffrey, DT Javon Hargrave, LB Dre Greenlaw and first-round WR Ricky Pearsall, among others.
To make matters worse, this banged up Niners team is also 2-3 heading into Week 6 — where they’ll play a pivotal NFC West game against the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football.
As for the Chiefs, they’re sitting pretty at 5-0 despite their injuries.
In Week 5, KC handled New Orleans with relative ease. Throwback performances from superstar tight end Travis Kelce, returning running back Kareem Hunt and veteran wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster led the way, but it was also another steady performance from the defense.
Over the past three weeks, Steve Spagnuolo’s unit has held the opposition under 20 points. In fact, the largest number of points that the Chiefs have allowed in 2024 was 25, facing the AFC rival Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2.
Whether it’s Mahomes, a breakout performance from a role player or the defense providing the key moments for KC, they continue to get the job done without Brown, Pacheco and Rice.
“These guys… they don’t flinch on [injury absences],” Reid said after the victory over the Saints. “They just [send] the next guy up and he goes. I’m proud of them for that… They just know that they trust the next guy is going to come in and do a good job.”
