Kansas City Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid spoke to the media today and confirmed that star Wide Receiver Rashee Rice had successful surgery on his knee. In the aftermath, the timeline for a full recovery will be the same as an ACL surgery: 10-12 months.
There once was optimism that Kansas City Chiefs Wide Receiver Rashee Rice could return for the playoffs. Well, that hope has turned into a resounding no. Rice’s surgery was completed last week, but the timeline to return is 10-12 months, which means a potential suspension from the NFL. It could be Thanksgiving 2025 before Rice returns in a Chiefs uniform.
The NFL trade deadline is November 5th, a big day in our country. On that day, we’ll elect the next President of the United States. General Manager Brett Veach now has to decide on the potential participants for the 2025 roster.
We know Xavier Worthy, Skyy Moore, Nikko Remigio, and Rice are under contract next season. JuJu Smith-Schuster, Hollywood Brown, and Justin Watson will be unrestricted free agents.
Hollywood could return in December, and his season-long injury has damaged what could have been magical with Patrick Mahomes. Still, Hollywood could do another incentive-laden deal with Kansas City, and he could be a factor in 2025. The same goes for JuJu, who is young enough and appears healthy now; he has a few years left.
The severity of the injury is also troubling for the Chiefs. Because of the seriousness of the damage to his PCL, which had to be rebuilt entirely, there is a possibility that Rice may never be the same receiver he was before the injury.
So that brings us to the trade deadline.
Between now and then, Veach might have to think about rebuilding the receiver room before this year ends. He has plenty of options if he makes a deal for a plug-and-play receiver through the Super Bowl.
Those candidates include the Browns, Amari Cooper, the Panthers Diontae Johnson, the Giants Darius Slayton, and the Titans DeAndre Hopkins.
Now, he could make a deal with Jaguars for Christian Kirk, who is under contract through the 2025 season.
Regardless of Veach’s direction, he’d prefer someone under contract this year and next. However, should he go that route, the draft capital is much greater. The price tag will be relatively consequential if he trades for a rental.
The Rice injury and likely four-game suspension he faces once his court cases are heard this summer forces Veach to be a Carnac and choose a path that might not work out in the short term. Or it might?
With three weeks to go to the trade deadline, the Chiefs are back on the field Sunday at San Francisco, so they might learn if the stride JuJu made in the offense is permanent or spotty. The same goes for Xavier Worthy and Tight End Travis Kelce.
If Reid shifts to running the ball more with a rotation of Kareem Hunt, Carson Steele, and Samaje Perine, the offense will have to adjust again. It worked against the New Orleans Saints, and that might be the formula in 2024.
Mahomes headed into Bye Week playing the best game of his season against an impressive Saints defense. Despite the 470 yards of offense, they only scored 26 points. However, this unit will score more points in the coming weeks if this is the new offense.
Veach has always been a gambler, and we could see a move we didn’t see coming. That’s the luxury he has in winning back-to-back Super Bowls. Still, he has to find a trade partner; something tells me he’ll have more receiver candidates depending on the price he must pay to acquire that missing piece.
