Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice is set to make his highly anticipated return to the NFL field on Sunday after serving his six-game suspension.
Rice was a second-round pick (No. 55 overall) in 2023 and followed up a strong rookie year (79 receptions for 938 yards and seven touchdowns across 16 games) with a fast start in 2024; in four games, he recorded 288 receiving yards and two touchdowns on 24 receptions.
However, Rice suffered a season-ending knee injury (torn ACL) in Week 4, which cut his breakout season short. Making matters worse, Rice was subsequently dealt a six-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal-conduct policy.
Now that the suspension is up and he’s more than a year removed from his ACL injury, the Chiefs are officially ready to welcome back their No. 1 receiver.
When speaking with reporters on Friday about the upcoming game, Rice said, "This week is really big… it has been a while since I’ve been out there with my guys. I’m excited to get out there and compete.”
Rice returned to practice this week and has run team reps, with Chiefs coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes expressing optimism that he’ll be ready to go immediately.
“He's going to want to be out there every single play,” Mahomes said on Wednesday. “That's the mentality that he has. I think it's gonna be our job as teammates and coaches to kind of build him back the right way, but it's gonna be hard to keep him off the field for sure.”
Added Reid: “It's great to have him back. He's fresh here, so we'll see how he does. He's a good football player and as a coach, I always welcome that for sure. I think getting through practices here will be good for him to kind of get back into the swing of things. We'll see how everything goes from there. But he's been working hard. He's in good shape.”
Adding to Reid and Mahomes’ comments, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported earlier in the week that the coaching staff and sources indicate Rice is expected to participate “full bore” rather than on a gradual snap-limit, joining an already productive receiver group that includes Xavier Worthy, Marquise “Hollywood” Brown and JuJu Smith‑Schuster.
Kansas City (3-3) hosts the Las Vegas Raiders (2-4) on Sunday; the Chiefs aim to sustain their recent momentum after a Week 6 win over the Detroit Lions, while the Raiders hope to keep their own win streak alive after defeating the Tennessee Titans 20-10.
Rice's presence should immediately boost Mahomes’ output, who’s already putting up MVP-caliber numbers through six weeks.
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