The Kansas City Chiefs may be undefeated through the first four weeks of the 2024 NFL season, but Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes face challenging circumstances with Rashee Rice joining a list of injured players.
On Sunday’s win over the Los Angeles Chargers, the Chiefs quarterback was involved in a confusing play that ended up with his primary weapon on a stretcher. After throwing an interception, Mahomes injured his teammate by accidentally tackling Rice.
This leaves the Chiefs without another key player in the offense, as the team had already suffered major blows with injuries to Hollywood Brown and Isiah Pacheco. Therefore, many wonder whether this situation will force Kansas City to search for a replacement in the market.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Reid made it clear to Mahomes and the Chiefs he already has plenty of confidence in the team’s current wideouts. However, the coach didn’t rule out making a trade to help the quarterback.
“Depending on who the guy is. That’s the reality of the situation. If he’s got experience in the offense, then it’s not too bad,” Reid said, via Sports Illustrated. “But it takes somebody a little bit of time to get himself involved and get the terminology down. It’s a lot easier now than it is during training camp when they have to learn a gazillion plays. Here, they just have the game week to learn. Getting on the same page with the quarterback and the timing, all that, that’s a bigger issue normally.”
Andy Reid believes Chiefs will miss Rice for a long time
Reid couldn’t tell for how long Rice is expected to be on the sidelines. The wideout will continue undergoing tests to see the extent of his injury, but the Chiefs already know he’ll be out for Week 5. And Mahomes will probably miss Rice for longer.
“As far as Rashee’s injury goes, we’re still testing him on things here,” Reid said. “So I don’t have a definite for you right now, but we will get it to you. He’s not going to be available, obviously, this week. So we’re going to make sure we get all of the tests that need to be done, done, and then we’ll let you know on that.”
Potential targets for Reid, Chiefs to replace Rice and help Mahomes
NFL insider James Palmer reported Rice may have suffered a torn ACL, an injury that would end his season after only four weeks. In the event the Chiefs decide to search for a replacement, these could be some potential targets:
- Amari Cooper (Cleveland Browns)
- Demarcus Robinson (Los Angeles Rams)
- Kadarius Toney (Cleveland Browns)
- Michael Tomas (free agent)
- Julio Jones (free agent)
Reid knows what is like to make midseason trades with the Chiefs. In 2022, the team made a move to acquire WR Kadarius Toney from the New York Giants, and only a year later, it brought back Mecole Hardman from the New York Jets. Both went on to catch few but key passes from Mahomes to win Super Bowl rings, but we’ll have to wait and see whether Rice’s injury is serious enough to make Kansas City take a similar route in 2024.