Chiefs fear ACL tear for WR Rashee Rice

Rice is in his second season as a pro out of SMU. As a second-round rookie, Rice caught 79 balls for 938 yards and seven touchdowns. His reception and yardage numbers were second on the team, while he led Kansas City in receiving touchdowns.

So far, in 2024, Rice has dominated the receiving numbers in Kansas City. Through three games, Rice has 24 catches for 288 yards and two touchdowns, all best on the team. The next closest player on the team is rookie first-rounder Xavier Worthy who has six catches for 81 yards and a score. Rice has been so good through three weeks, in fact, that he came into Week 4 with the second-most receiving yards in the NFL behind only Nico Collins of the Texans.

Rice’s injury was the result of a turnover. When Chargers cornerback Kristian Fulton intercepted Patrick Mahomes and began returning the ball downfield, Rice pursued the defender. When attempting to knock the ball out of Fulton’s hands, Rice was cut down at the knees by Mahomes, who was attempting to tackle Fulton.

Losing Rice is a big blow to the Chiefs offense. Without Rice for the game, tight end Travis Kelce had a resurgent performance after a slow start to the year. If Rice joins free-agent addition Marquise Brown on injured reserve, Mahomes will be targeting a group of weapons that consists of Worthy, Justin Watson, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Skyy Moore and Mecole Hardman. While none of those names jump off the page as scary x-factors, Mahomes has won Super Bowls with a similar receiving corps.