The Kansas City Chiefs lost yet another key weapon early in the 2024 NFL season with Patrick Mahomes accidentally injuring Rashee Rice in Week 4. Andy Reid, however, seems to be happy with his in-house options to replace the team’s primary wide receiver.
“I’ll visit [the moves] with each [practice session]. But right now, I think we’re okay with who we’ve got up at wide receiver,” Reid told reporters before Week 5, letting the front office know there’s no need to make moves.
Before leaving the Los Angeles Chargers game early in the first quarter, Rice had clearly established himself as the Chiefs’ WR1 by leading the team in targets, catches, receiving yards and touchdowns through the first weeks of the 2024 NFL season.
While the extent of his injury remains unclear, the Chiefs already know they’ll be without the second-year wideout for at least four weeks as Rice was placed on Injured Reserve, joining other weapons on the sidelines.
Rashee Rice #4 of the Kansas City Chiefs warms up before Super Bowl LVIII against the Kansas City Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium on February 11, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Before Rice went down, Reid and Mahomes already had to deal with injuries to Hollywood Brown and Isiah Pacheco, whose absence forced the Chiefs to bring back veteran running back Kareem Hunt. This time, however, it looks like Reid won’t look at options outside Kansas City.
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Andy Reid happy with the Chiefs’ wide receivers in 2024
With Rice out for several weeks, many are switching their attention to rookie wideout Xavier Worthy as they expect him to step up like Rice did in 2023. However, Reid made it clear to Mahomes he expects the other wideouts on the roster to be involved.
“We have guys here that have experience of playing in a game, so I mean, it’s not that he’s the only one, [and] doesn’t have to be the only one,” Reid said of Worthy. “We’ve got a good group of guys there that we can utilize. We normally spread the ball around, and that’s what we’ll continue to strive to do.“
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The Chiefs’ WR room also counts on veteran wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster—who returned to Kansas City after a year with the New England Patriots, Skyy Moore, Mecole Hardman, and Justin Watson. While many would expect the team to make a move to bolster the group during Rice’s absence, Reid seems to think highly of the current wideouts on the roster.
“Skyy’s a good football player. He’s given us some good downs. We’re OK there,” Reid said of Moore before heaping praise on Smith-Schuster: “Pat’s got a lot of trust in him. He’s still a good football player, yeah.”
