Kansas City Chiefs receiver Rashee Rice was on pace to cruise past his rookie numbers in Year 2 as he hit the ground running with Patrick Mahomes in 2024.
But just four games in, a nasty knee injury saw Rice be sidelined for the season, and left the Chiefs without their No. 1 weapon.
Rice was on pace to have 1,224 yards in his second year before injury struck, and now, he’s on the comeback trail as the Chiefs begin their offseason work.
However, being out for so long, what are the expectations for Rice once he gets on the field in 2025?
“Expectations are high,” Mahomes said. “He looks really good, he’s running routes, he’s catching the football. I don’t know when we get back into the actual OTAs how much he’ll be able to do, but he’s been able to do everything as far as running routes.”
Sep 29, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice (4) is assisted by medical staff after an injury in the first half against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium.
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
As Mahomes points out, exactly how involved Rice will be once OTAs come around is unknown, but we imagine he will be eased in as preparation for training camp beginning.
Seen as the Chiefs’ best offensive weapon, having a fully healthy Rice to pair with Xavier Worthy, who himself has quite the rookie season, will give Mahomes two dynamite options in the pass game.
Plus, we haven’t mentioned Travis Kelce, Marquise Brown, or Juju Smith-Schuster yet, either, so the offense looks to have some nice weapons.
Rice was on pace to have two stellar seasons to begin his career, but now he must get himself healthy and ready to attack 2025 as he looks to bounce back and lead this offense to great heights.
And yes, expectations for him in Year 3 are high.
