Chiefs WR Rashee Rice feared he had a torn ACL, sources say

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Rashee Rice is believed to have torn an ACL in her right knee, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter after the Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver collided with quarterback Patrick Mahomes during Sunday's 17-10 win over the Los Angeles Chargers .

Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Rice will undergo an MRI on Monday.

“I'm sure the news isn't as good as we'd like it to be,” Reid said after the Chiefs improved to 4-0.

Rice's injury is the latest shock to the Chiefs and their hopes of a high-scoring offense. Another of their wide receivers, Hollywood Brown, suffered a sternoclavicular injury in the first preseason game and will miss most, if not all, of the 2024 season.

Running back Isiah Pacheco broke his leg in Week 2 and is also injured, although he could return later in the season.

Rice suffered the injury after colliding with Mahomes while trying to recover a Chargers mistake during an interception return. Both of Rice's knees were hit in his collision with Mahomes, and the receiver's right knee appeared to hyperextend. He was helped off the pitch and his knee was examined pitchside by medical staff before being taken on a cart to the dressing room.

Rice led the league with 24 catches in Week 4 and was second with 288 yards.

In his absence, the Chiefs received big contributions from tight end Travis Kelce, running back Kareem Hunt and wide receiver Xavier Worthy.

Kelce had his first big game of the season with seven catches for 89 yards, passing Tony Gonzalez and becoming the Chiefs' all-time leader in receptions.

Hunt led the team in rushing with 69 yards in his first game with the Chiefs, six years after making the cut. Worthy caught a 54-yard pass from Mahomes for Kansas City's first touchdown.

“The guys have filled the role that (Rice) plays in our offense as best as they can, which is a big role,” Mahomes said. “Now all we can do is go back to basics and try.” Give the boys chances to be successful.

“With Rashee going out early, you have to put Kelce back in the situation where he's making a lot of catches. Then the Chargers just take away some of the outside and leave the middle of the field open, and that's what we were able to get to Trav in some of those zone coverages.

“The whole Kelce thing generally hasn’t worried me. I know whenever we need him he will play and he did that today.”

Hunt gave the Chiefs' running game some life after rookie starter Carson Steele lost a fumble for the second time in three games. Reid said Hunt got most of the work after the fumble because he was the “hot hand,” but indicated he wouldn't hesitate to use Steele in future games.

Mahomes said Hunt looks a lot like the player who led the NFL in rushing in 2017.

“He’s always been a guy that runs hard,” Mahomes said. “He’s tough to tackle and you could see that and he’s going to make sure he finishes every single run and falls forward.”

“For someone to get into an offense — I know it's an offense he's been in before, but an offense he hasn't played in years — and be able to run the football hard, get well-earned yards to get them to catch “It was nice to see the ball coming out of the backfield.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.