Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was not willing to rule out star wide receiver Rashee Rice for the remainder of the season while addressing the media on September 30. Having said that, Reid did confirm that Rice will be unavailable in Week 5.
“As far as Rashee’s injury goes, we’re still testing him on things here,” the Chiefs HC said. “So, I don’t have a definite for you right now, but we will get it to you. He’s not going to be available obviously this week.”
Reid concluded that the team would make sure that they get all of their medical tests done before determining the severity of Rice’s knee injury.
Chiefs WR Rashee Rice Expected to Have Suffered Torn ACL: Insider
The major fear is that rice suffered a torn ACL against the Los Angeles Chargers. An injury of that nature would end his 2024 campaign.
“They’ll have the MRI just to confirm it, and the expectation as you mentioned Pat [McAfee] is that it’ll be a torn ACL [for Rice],” ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter told the Pat McAfee Show on Monday, September 30.
“[Rice] will be the third key player that [the Chiefs] will have lost on offense,” the insider went on. “[Wide receiver] Hollywood Brown is out for the remainder of the regular season with the shoulder surgery that he had. [Running back] Isiah Pacheco suffered the eight-week fractured fibula. So, those are some big losses.”
“It’s hard to get somebody in there that hasn’t played in that offense before, that hasn’t worked with Patrick Mahomes in the offseason,” Schefter reminded. “It’s not a simple thing to do.”
He also acknowledged that veteran wide receivers like DeAndre Hopkins, Amari Cooper, Diontae Johnson and Adam Thielen could all make sense as logical trade targets if they are eventually made available but added that it may not be “that simple” for KC to patch up their offense.
“They’re going to have to rely on, I think, their own talent,” Schefter said. Highlighting newcomers and returnees like running back Kareem Hunt, tight end Jody Fortson and running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire — who is eligible to return off the non-football illness list in Week 5.
Chiefs HC Andy Reid Discusses Internal Options That Could Help Replace Rashee Rice
Reid was asked about several different internal options that could replace Rice on September 30. First-round draft pick Xavier Worthy being the headliner.
“We’ll see how [Worthy] does,” Reid said, regarding the rookie. “We’ve got guys here that have experience of playing in the game, so it’s not that he’s the only one — doesn’t have to be the only one. We’ve got a good group of guys there that we can utilize. We normally spread the ball around and that’s what we’ll continue to strive to do.”
One of those experienced pass-catchers is JuJu Smith-Schuster, who reunited with the Chiefs in late August.
“[Smith-Schuster has] played quite a bit, up to this point,” Reid told reporters. “I think he’s in good shape… [Mahomes has] got a lot of trust in him. He’s still a good football player.”
The veteran head coach also stated that third-year WR Skyy Moore has given the Chiefs “some good downs” over the first four games, but did note that Moore’s Week 4 drop is a play that he has to make.
Reid was not willing to discuss whether or not Kansas City will promote a wide receiver like Justyn Ross or Nikko Remigio from the practice squad to the 53-man roster before first sitting down with general manager Brett Veach. Nor was he willing to provide an update on Edwards-Helaire’s current medical and/or physical condition.
