Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Chiefs WR Rashee Rice Making Remarkable Progress at OTAs Following Knee Injury Rehab

Rice's return will take the Chiefs' receiver room to greater heights

Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The OTAs for NFL teams are underway, and Kansas City Chiefs fans have reason to smile. Wide receiver Rashee Rice is back training with the team following his knee injury last season that forced him to miss all but 4 games in 2024.

Even better news is that Rice has looked razor sharp during drills, which is a positive sign for the Chiefs’ wide receiver room. Rice is showing quick footwork off the snap, a spring in his step, and good hands at training, as per video clips released by the team. The receiver room has been one of the biggest problem areas for Kansas City for the past few seasons.

Rashee Rice looking as advertised last week pic.twitter.com/qGaowU7rOa
— Pete Sweeney (@pgsween) June 4, 2025

Last year, the Chiefs signed Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown to pair up with Rice, but injuries to both players severely depleted the Chiefs’ plans heading into week 5 of the season. This year, though, the receiving core for the Chiefs has the capacity to become explosive once again, provided they can remain healthy.

Also Read: Which Quarterbacks Have Beaten All 32 Teams in NFL History?

How Does Rice’s Return Impact the Chiefs?

Rice, who was drafted by the Chiefs in 2023, quickly gained momentum as the regular season neared its end and became an important go-to player for quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the playoffs. The SMU graduate was expected to take a big step in his second year, but his knee injury meant he would miss most of the season.

With Rice out and Hollywood Brown also missing most of the season due to a sternoclavicular injury, the team had to rely on rookie Xavier Worthy to step up. Similar to Rice, Worthy also showed promise toward the end of last season, but now that the trio is healthy, there is a genuine chance that Kansas City can run a much more varied and unrestricted offense, including the deep ball threat.

The 3 biggest concerns coming back from a knee injury:

1️⃣ Cutting/changing direction
2️⃣ Sudden stops
3️⃣ Explosive push-offs

In just 18 seconds, Rashee Rice does all three — no hesitation, no limp. 💪🏼

That’s a BIG deal. 👀🔥
pic.twitter.com/kFrtiEW7YT
— Daily Chiefs (@Daily_Chiefs_) June 4, 2025

With Worthy and Brown providing the vertical threat with their speed, it leaves Rice to work his magic inside at the slot position, along with tight end Travis Kelce, to provide Mahomes plenty of options.

Last year, Worthy was forced into playing a different role on offense than what he had trained for during the offseason, and adjusting to a new role made it difficult for the Chiefs to operate the offense they wanted to execute. Now, though, Rice’s availability means all receivers can play their best positions, fueling excitement among Chiefs’ fans.

Hollywood Brown

Kansas City Chiefs

NFL

Rashee Rice

xavier worthy

Devavrat Kulkarni

nfl

I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!