One week after the Chiefs feared the worst with Rashee Rice’s status, they received another glimmer of hope that their top wideout could return this season — and potentially avoided a torn ACL — after all.
Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer reported during Sunday’s pregame show that Rice, who was carted off the field Sept. 29 following a collision with quarterback Patrick Mahomes, will undergo “an exploratory-type surgery” Tuesday in Dallas to determine if a season-ending procedure will be needed, with the best-case scenario — where additional surgery isn’t required — for a return reportedly around six weeks.
“It’s basically an exam of his knee,” Glazer said. “They’re gonna look at his ACL, his LCL, the hamstring … a bunch of stuff. If he needs surgery on something, it’s probably gonna be done for — he’ll be done for the year. But if in this little exam, exploratory exam, they find out that they don’t have to do something, he could be back in six weeks.”
Rice will see Dr. Dan Cooper — the Cowboys’ team doctor based in Dallas — for the arthroscopic surgery, according to NFL.com.
The injury occurred during the Chiefs’ win against the Chargers on Sept. 29, after Mahomes threw an interception to cornerback Kristian Fulton in the fourth quarter and attempted to make a tackle during the return.
Instead, his helmet collided directly with Rice’s knee, and the second-year wideout exited the game before an initial report about a torn ACL surfaced later that night.
“I mean, when I saw the replay, I felt like s–t that I hit Rashee,” Mahomes told reporters during the week. “I think that’s pretty much all — I mean, I wasn’t worried about myself. I was worried about, hopefully, his injury and hoping it wasn’t as bad as it looked because I was the one that hit him.”
Rice collected 938 receiving yards and seven touchdowns as a rookie before a turbulent offseason filled with off-field issues followed, and through four games this year, he caught 288 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns.
HIs absence, though, prompted the Chiefs to emerge as a team that could potentially look to add another wideout for an offense that’s struggled at times and received an underwhelming start from tight end Travis Kelce.
But there’s still a chance Rice could return, perhaps even before the regular season ends, and provide some normalcy for the offense.
Tuesday, for now, will mark a critical day for determining that timeline.
