KANSAS CITY, Mo. — KSHB 41 reporter Tod Palmer covers sports business and eastern Jackson County, including Independence. Share your story idea with Tod.
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Rashee Rice came up lame on the Chiefs’ second drive, exiting the game with a non-contact injury.
Lining up tight to the right end of the formation, Rice faked a run block then slipped into the flats, where he caught a short Patrick Mahomes pass and turned upfield.
As he tried to deliver a juke, planting his left leg to press toward the sideline, Rice appeared to take an awkward step before limping to the sideline, where he reached for the back of his left leg.
Rice left the game to be examined by Kansas City’s medical staff. The Chiefs announced that he was questionable to return with a hamstring injury.
It’s the latest setback for the former second-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft out of SMU.
Rice grew into a promising rookie season, finishing second on the Chiefs behind Travis Kelce with 79 catches for 938 yards and a team-high seven receptions.
He led Kansas City in yards per target that season, with 9.2. However, Rice suffered a torn ACL — ironically, on a hit by Mahomes at Allegiant Stadium after an interception — in the fourth game of the 2024 season, ending what had been a promising start to his second NFL season.
Rice, who had been involved in a high-speed injury crash in March 2024 in Dallas, missed the rest of the season and was suspended for the first six games in 2025 after pleading guilty to two third-degree felony charges related to the car crash.
He was limited to eight games last season, finishing with 53 catches for 571 yards and five touchdowns.
Rice, who led Kansas City wide receivers in receptions and tied for the team lead in TD catches despite missing half the season, spent 30 days in a Texas jail for a probation violation during the offseason, but returned as a productive part of the Chiefs’ perfect start to the season.
Through three games, Rice had 13 catches for 190 yards — both second to Kelce on the team — and a touchdown before leaving Sunday’s game in Vegas.
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