On Saturday, Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice spoke to local media members for the first time since his season-ending injury in 2024’s Week 4.
After an interception by the Los Angeles Chargers’ (and now-Chiefs) cornerback Kristian Fulton, quarterback Patrick Mahomes inadvertently drove into Rice’s right knee as he attempted to tackle Fulton. The impact tore Rice’s LCL and caused additional partial tears, ending his 2024 season.
After months of rehab, Rice rejoined teammates for organized team activities (OTAs), showing no limitations. Following Saturday’s practice, Rice said he actually feels better now than he did at this time last year.
“I was able to work on things that I didn’t know I had to focus on in my knee,” said Rice. “Shout out to Dr. [Dan] Cooper. He did a great job on my knee. So I just got to focus on small things, which helped me improve my game on the field.”
Rice had been highly productive for the Chiefs in the first three games of the year, posting 24 catches for 288 yards and two touchdowns. Projected over a 17-game season, that pace would have produced 136 catches for 1,632 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns.
Now that Rice is all the way back, Kansas City hopes for that kind of production.
“I’m excited to be back out here with the guys — just kind of basically back where I left off at,” he said. “So the only thing is to get back on the field and just continue to have fun doing what I do.”
The one caveat in Rice’s comeback story involves the legal situation stemming from his off-the-field incident in late March 2024. The wide receiver was racing another car on a highway in Dallas, which led to a six-vehicle crash.
Rice recently received his court sentence after pleading guilty to two third‑degree felonies, getting five years of probation and 30 days in Dallas County jail. With the legal portion resolved, the path is clear for the NFL to announce what is anticipated to be a multi-game suspension.
“It’s still in the works,” said Rice. “My legal team is handling that. All I can do is focus on what I can control right now, and that’s me doing what I do best right here on the field.”
Reflecting on the situation, Rice explained that he has changed completely. He now understands the consequences of ill-advised decisions.
“[I learned] just how valuable any opportunity is — and any moment is,” said Rice. “This right here? Us being able to be on the field and be coached by coach [Andy] Reid and have such a great quarterback? It’s honestly a gift. It’s a blessing.”
According to the NFL’s official policy, a suspended player can participate in training camp and the preseason. But once the season begins, the player cannot be in the team’s facilities for the first half of his suspension. From that point, the player is allowed to return in a limited capacity.
So it will be up to Rice to stay in playing shape as he sits out. But he believes he can.
“I’m locked in,” he said. “This is what I do. This is my job. This is what I love to do. So even when I’m not able to be out there with my team, I’m still going to be working as hard as I can so I can be back out there with them as soon as possible.”
Injury report
- Returned to practice: N/A
- Out of practice (due to injury): TE Jake Briningstool (out with hamstring since 7/26), WR Hollywood Brown (out with ankle since 7/30), S Deon Bush (out with hamstring since 7/29), WR Skyy Moore (out with hamstring since 7/30), LB Drue Tranquill (out with back since 8/2), TE Jared Wiley (out since 8/2)
- Left practice early (due to injury): N/A
- Non-football injury (NFI) list: DL BJ Thompson
- Physically unable to perform (PUP) list: CB Kristian Fulton (out with knee since 7/22)
Post of the day
Our John Dixon compiled all of Saturday’s posts here. Here is the post of the day:
Fun with the fans on “Family Fun Day.”
Quote of the day
Defensive end Ashton Gillotte on the high temperatures in training camp: “I didn’t think St. Joe was really gonna get this hot. It’s cooled off now, thankfully. But I thought they were exagerrating a little bit. I came from Florida, so I’ve practiced in 110 [degrees] and been fine. But we don’t have a breeze here, so those days are hot. Very, very hot.”
What’s next?
Saturday’s practice leads into another workout on Sunday at 9:15 a.m. Arrowhead Time. Following the practice, head coach Andy Reid will address the media as the whole team signs autographs.
Here’s the complete 2025 training camp schedule.
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