The Week 4 win for the Kansas City Chiefs (4-0) over the Los Angeles Chargers (2-2) was bittersweet as they witnessed wide receiver Rashee Rice suffer a serious injury.
The second-year wide receiver is feared to have suffered a torn ACL after being accidentally run into by quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Rice has since undergone further testing, which has created even more uncertainty over the extent of his injury, but he is not expected back anytime soon, whether it’s season-ending or not.
It’s yet another brutal blow to the Chiefs wide receiver room, which already lost Marquise Brown (shoulder) for at least the regular season.
However, head coach Andy Reid is confident they will be just fine thanks to rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy and others.
“We’ll see how he does,” Reid said, via Jesse Newell of the Kansas City Star. “We’ve got guys here that have experience of playing in the game. It’s not that he’s the only one. He doesn’t have to be the only one. We’ve got a good group of guys there that we can utilize. We normally spread the ball around, and that’s what we’ll continue to strive to do.”
Worthy, Kansas City’s first-round pick (No. 28) in the 2024 NFL Draft, has been impressive, reeling in nine catches for 154 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 39 yards and another score.
It’s not difficult to imagine those numbers growing at a much quicker rate, either, after Worthy posted a career-high 73 receiving yards after Rice went down on Sunday.
Worthy isn’t the only player who will see his role expanded, though. Wide receivers Justin Watson, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Mecole Hardman and Skyy Moore should all see more opportunities, too.
Reid believes the Chiefs’ familiarity with Smith-Schuster, who returned to K.C. this offseason, could come in handy.
“He’s played quite a bit up to this point, and I think he’s in good shape. I don’t think that’s a problem,” Reid added. “Pat has a lot of trust in him. He’s still a good football player.”
While Smith-Schuster is still only 27, he has just 31 catches for 277 yards and two touchdowns since his first stint with the Chiefs in 2022.
That is why Kansas City should keep its options open, which includes going shopping for another playmaker. Although, that could prove to be difficult for a team trying to become the first in NFL history to ever three-peat.
