Andy Reid hasn’t completely ruled out Rashee Rice for the rest of the season, but the Kansas City Chiefs could be looking at a third midseason trade for a wide receiver in three years.
Rice is still being tested, Reid told reporters Monday, a day after the receiver was inadvertently hit in the knee by his own quarterback.
Reid said Rice will be unavailable for next week’s home game against the New Orleans Saints on “Monday Night Football” but had no further comment. ESPN and NFL Network reported Sunday night that the Chiefs feared Rice had torn his ACL.
“We’re still testing it, so I don’t have anything definitive to tell you at this time,” Reid said Monday.
In the first quarter of a 17-10 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, Patrick Mahomes threw an interception to cornerback Kristian Fulton, whose 29-yard return ended when Rice appeared behind him and fumbled the ball. Mahomes was attempting to make a tackle at the same time Rice forced the fumble and the quarterback collided with Rice’s right knee.
Rice, 24, had to be helped off the field and was eventually taken on a stretcher to the locker room.
Rice is the Chiefs’ leading receiver in receptions (24), passing targets (29), yards (288), and touchdowns (two, tied with Xavier Worthy).
Reid said it’s not just Worthy, the team’s first-round pick last April, who needs to step up in Rice’s absence.
The Chiefs are likely to give more playing time to veteran JuJu Smith-Schuster and former second-rounder Skyy Moore. But Kansas City is no stranger to adding new receivers mid-season.
In October 2022, the Chiefs reached an agreement with the New York Giants before the trade deadline to acquire wide receiver Kadarius Toney. Last year they signed former New York Jets standout Mecole Hardman. Toney is no longer with the team, while Hardman has played 14 snaps on offense this season and hasn’t been targeted.
“It depends on who the player is,” Reid said. “If you have experience on offense, it’s not that bad. But it takes a little bit of time for someone to get involved and learn the terminology. But it’s a lot easier now than during training camp, when they have to learn a lot of words.” Here, they only have a game week to learn and get in tune with the quarterback and the timing and everything else, that’s a bigger issue.”
The deadline to make trades is November 5th.
