How Chiefs Can Rejuvenate Kelce During Rice Suspension

The next-oldest player on the Kansas City roster is another tight end, 31-year-old Robert Tonyan. And load-managing Kelce, including his snap count, is critical during Rashee Rice’s six-game hiatus, according to ESPN NFL analyst Mina Kimes.

“Which is what makes the Rice suspension so challenging for Kansas City,” she said Friday on NFL Live, “because I think the ideal version of this offense is one in which they can lessen Kelce’s workload from what we saw last year.”

Kimes said that without Rice in 2024, Xavier Worthy was the Chiefs’ answer for man coverage, especially in the second half of last season.

Filling Rice's void in zone coverage

And when Kansas City faces zone coverage, something they’re expected to see in Week 1 against the Chargers, the Chiefs won’t be able to split targets between Kelce and Rice. Someone like JuJu Smith-Schuster or, when he returns, rookie Jalen Royals will have to fill that void for Rice.

“They're a zone team,” head coach Andy Reid said Sunday, asked about the Chargers and their league-low 17.1 points per game in 2024, “but the zones are tight, and they have a bunch of different combinations. Plus, they can play man, and they do that well.

“But their zones, they do a heck of a job with that. So, you can see why they were ranked so high. And they're going to try not to give up the big play, obviously, but at the same time, be able to attack underneath.”

Rejuvenate the ground game, too

Kimes said one way to help lessen Rice’s void is to get more from Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt on the ground. The Chargers, who lost their starting nose tackle Poona Ford in free agency, ranked just 14th in the league in 2024 with 117.5 rushing yards allowed per game.

“The Chiefs offense is going to use a lot of two-, three-tight-end sets,” she said, “and if they can run the ball, I think they can get Kelce favorable matchups, create space for him to work underneath, and not put too much pressure on him to be what he was earlier in his career.”

What he was earlier in his career is likely to show up if the Chiefs can enjoy the deep-ball success they had in the preseason finale, something woefully missing from their attack in 2024. Kelce begins what could be his 13th and final NFL season on Friday.