The Kansas City Chiefs watched wide receiver Rashee Rice struggle to get himself to the sideline after making a first-quarter catch against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 4. It was immediately clear that something was wrong with his leg.
From there, the Chiefs completed a touchdown drive—thanks to a deep pass to Xavier Worthy and a Tyquan Thornton TD catch—without Rice as he was eventually designated as questionable to return with a hamstring injury.
Rice remained on the sideline with his helmet on, which made it seem like a short-term issue, but reporter Tracy Wolfson noted he was then frustratedly taken back to the locker room.
Without Rice available, the Chiefs will turn to Jalen Royals,, who was the team's fourth-round pick from the 2025 draft. Rice profiles as the same type of big slot receiver as Rice and should be in line for a much greater volume of targets than the three total through 3 games he's seen so far in 2026.
Update, Halftime: The Chiefs have officially downgraded Rice to doubtful after further evaluations were made by trainers in the locker room. That he's not ruled out is a silver lining at least when considering the bigger picture, but his presence will be missed for the next two quarters.
Rice was on field running gingerly as Chiefs warmed up for second half. Since then he's mostly been standing alone as he seems to be trying to loosen up. But .. up by field instead of with receiver group on bench. Hard to tell what's what from what can see now.
— Vahe Gregorian (@vgregorian) October 4, 2026
Update (10/5, 3:10 p.m.): NFL reporter Ian Rapoport says that Rice has a minor hamstring injury and that it's possible he's okay to play as early as Week 6 against the Los Angeles Chargers. Nothing is official, but that could be a well-timed bye week for the Chiefs.
Update (10/14, 3:00 p.m.): Rice is back with his teammates in practice after the bye week, but he's the only one sitting out the activities. While Rice is present, he's hanging back as the lone injured player for K.C.
Update: (10/15, 3:10 p.m.): Rice missed a second day of practice on Thursday, which makes it seem pretty obvious that he won't be suiting up versus the Chargers on
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