The Kansas City Chiefs are about to get a familiar spark back in their offense. Wide receiver Rashee Rice has returned from a six-game NFL suspension — just in time for Sunday’s AFC West matchup with the Las
Vegas Raiders.
“I think he’s excited to be back in and going,” head coach Andy Reid told reporters on Wednesday. “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.”
The coach is eager to see how Rice’s presence will add to the team’s improving offense.
“It’s great to have him back,” said Reid. “He’s a good football player, and as a coach I always welcome that, for sure. We just want to get him back in the swing here and see how he does.”
Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who built strong chemistry with Rice during the receiver’s rookie campaign, thinks his return is coming at the perfect time: As the offense continues to climb back toward its familiar explosiveness with wideout Xavier Worthy, Mahomes believes it is in a rhythm.
“I think we’ve gotten better and better,” he said. “Adding guys like Xavier back — and then getting Rashee back — will just continue to hopefully improve what we can do. All you can ask for is to get better each and every week — and I feel like we’re doing that.”
The Chiefs’ quarterback noted Rice’s competitive mindset.
“He’s going to want to be out there every single play,” Mahomes reminded reporters. “That’s the mentality he has. It’s going to be our job as teammates and coaches to build him back the right way. But it’s going to be hard to keep him off the field, for sure.”
For Worthy, Rice’s return means more options for the offense — which will put more pressure on opposing defenses.
“That’s just another threat,” Worthy said. “Like he said, ‘Everybody eats.’ I feel like it’s just more eyes [going] on somebody else. I mean, everybody in this offense can make a play or win one-on-one. So, it’s just another explosive guy on the offense.”
Worthy anticipates that having Rice back will also bring a sense of completeness to a group that hasn’t been fully healthy (or available) all season — and for quite a while before that.
“Shoot, man, y’all don’t know it this way,” Worthy said with a grin. “But just finally getting to play together — all together — it’s something we’ve talked about for a long time. Just finally getting an opportunity. We’re going to see what it turns out to be.”
Mahomes subscribes to the popular opinion: Rice’s return will help the offense perform as it did in 2022 — or maybe even 2018.
“When you can get a guy like Rashee back, it just opens things up,” he declared. “You can move guys around more, you can change matchups — and defenses have to respect what he brings.”
Reid echoed that excitement, noting that the challenge now is simply integrating Rice back into the system — not rebuilding his confidence or conditioning.
“He’s fresh,” Reid said. “We’ll see how he does, but it’s good to have him out there.”
The Chiefs enter Week 7 with momentum, having rebounded from a slow offensive start to begin the season. With Rice back, the team believes its best football is still ahead.
“You just want to keep improving,” remarked Mahomes, “[and] keep getting better every week. We’ve got a lot of guys that can make plays. And now, we’ve got one more.”
