Rashee Rice Cleared for Chiefs Training Camp After Knee Injury Rehab, Recovery

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice is trending in a positive direction after missing most of the 2024 NFL season due to a knee injury.

According to Matt McMullen of the team's official website, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said Thursday that Rice will be good to go for the start of training camp next month.

Reid also told reporters that first-round pick Josh Simmons will be ready for training camp after recovering from a patellar injury.

After a red-hot start to the 2024 campaign, Rice injured his knee in Week 4 and had to undergo posterolateral corner surgery, which ended his season.

Selected in the second round of the 2023 NFL draft out of SMU, Rice made an instant impact for the Chiefs, finishing his rookie season with 79 receptions for 938 yards and seven touchdowns.

He also recorded 26 catches for 262 yards and a touchdown in four playoff games, as Kansas City won its second consecutive Super Bowl.

Rice was expected to take the next step in his second NFL season, and the early returns were great. With 24 receptions for 288 yards and two touchdowns in three games, Rice was on track to far exceed his rookie totals.

However, early in a Week 4 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, Rice was hit by some friendly fire when quarterback Patrick Mahomes collided with his legs while both were trying to make a play on the ball following a Mahomes interception.

Rice had to be helped off the field, and he did not play again for the remainder of the 2024 campaign.

With Mahomes' go-to wideout on the shelf, the Kansas City offense was highly inconsistent, finishing an uncharacteristic 15th in scoring.

Rookie Xavier Worthy led all Chiefs wide receivers in receptions (59), receiving yards (638) and receiving touchdowns (six), and no other Chiefs wideout reached the 450-yard mark.

Despite that, the Chiefs made it back to the Super Bowl, but they were denied a third straight title, as the Philadelphia Eagles dominated en route to a 40-22 victory.

Rice's recovery suggests he could be ready to play in Week 1 of the 2025 NFL regular season, but it is far from guaranteed he will be able to even if he is cleared.

According to ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio, Rice is facing three lawsuits, as well as criminal charges stemming from a March 2024 arrest for allegedly injuring multiple people in a street race.

That means an NFL suspension is possible, although Florio noted that the league does not plan to decide on potential discipline until the end of Rice's criminal case.

If Rice is not able to play at the start of the 2025 season either due to injury or suspension, the Chiefs will likely rely on several returning weapons in the passing game, such as tight end Travis Kelce and wide receivers Hollywood Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Worthy.

Kansas City also selected wideout Jalen Royals in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL draft.