According to Ian Rapoport, Chiefs WR Rashee Rice is scheduled to undergo an arthroscopic procedure on his injured knee to determine the true extent of his injury.
Rapoport says that will give Kansas City a final verdict on the severity of Rice’s injury and what kind of return to play timeline he’s looking at. There’s a chance Rice could end up playing again in 2024 but Rapoport says it’s just a slim chance at this point.
Citing sources, Rapoport says the scope could show an intact ACL but damage to the PCL and LCL ligaments. It could also show a partially damaged ACL that still requires reconstructive surgery, and in the best-case scenario there would be limited damage to all ligaments and no surgery required.
Any kind of major ligament surgery would necessitate a four to six-month recovery timeline, with ACL reconstruction a nine-month process, per Rapoport. He adds the best-case scenario is a four to six-week absence if the ligaments are stable.
Rice was already placed on injured reserve at the end of last week.
Rice, 24, was named first-team All-AAC in 2022 for SMU. The Chiefs selected him in the second round with the No. 55 overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft.
He’s entering the second year of a four-year, $6,495,207 rookie contract that includes a $1,723,787 signing bonus.
In 2024, Rice has appeared in four games for the Chiefs and caught 24 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns.
We’ll have more on Rice as the news is available.
