Rashee Rice's timeline remains unclear for Chiefs with need for further testing

Rashee Rice is not going to play for the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 5. That much is clear.

If that sounds obvious, it is. Yet it's also the only angle about which Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid could speak with any clarity after watching Rice, the team's best wide receiver, leave with a serious leg injury early in Week 4. Everything else, he says, remains up in the air or unconfirmed.

Rice has been a sensational weapon for the Chiefs so far in 2024, building upon an excellent rookie campaign in which he nearly set the organizational record for most receiving yards by a first-year wideout. He has 24 catches for 288 yards and 2 touchdowns through the first three games and was positioned for a breakout season until the injury happened.

Andy Reid spoke to reporters on Monday and admitted the team wasn't sure about Rice's official timeline yet.

On Sunday, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw an interception to Chargers defensive back Kristian Fulton, who took off trying to gain yards after making the grab. Rice was one of numerous Chiefs players trying to make a play on the ball, and Mahomes himself even dove to stop Fulton only to realize he'd fallen on Rice in such a way that he'd caused serious injury.

The Chiefs were quick to note that Rice was out for the rest of the game and Reid stated that Rice would undergo further testing on Monday morning. However, even after an MRI, Reid is still not ready to announce any findings or final results.

We’re still testing him on things here, so I don’t have a definite for you right now but we’ll get it to you," he told reporters on Monday. "He’s obviously not going to be available 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."

The loss of Rice will further limit an offense that's gone without Hollywood Brown all season and Isiah Pacheco since Week 2. At wideout, they're left with familiar faces from last season's struggles like Justin Watson and Skyy Moore but they've also added JuJu Smith-Schuster as a free agent and Xavier Worthy as a rookie. In fact, Reid had good things to say about Worthy's performance on Monday as well.

"I thought Xavier showed what he could do,'' Reid said. "He had a couple other potential opportunities there that we weren't quite able to get to him, but you got a chance to at least see him operate out there and do some nice things as one of the primary receivers."

The Chiefs' next scheduled game is against the New Orleans Saints at home on Monday Night Football in Week 5.