NFL
How long could Rashee Rice be injured for with suspected ACL issue? Season-ending injury list?
After hobbling from the field on Sunday the Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver is scheduled to undergo an MRI scan on Monday.
The Kansas City Chiefs’ hopes of a third consecutive Super Bowl triumph suffered a blow on Sunday. They extended their winning start to four games but received a major injury concern in their victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.
Wide receiver Rashee Rice suffered a knee injury in a collision with teammate Patrick Mahomes. Rice hobbled from the field and went straight to the locker room before being ruled out for the rest of the game.
“I’m sure it’s not as good of news as we want,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said on Sunday evening. “I feel terrible for Rashee because he is having a fantastic year. We’ll hope for the best.”
Mahomes echoed that grim outlook, saying: “Him being down like that, I knew it wasn’t good.”
The NFL website reports that Rice has “suffered a serious knee injury, likely a torn ACL, that could cause him to miss the rest of the season.”
Will Rashee Rice be added to the IR?
If Rice has suffered the dreaded anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury his season will almost certainly be over. Knee injuries are notoriously difficult to recover from and wide receivers, expected to receive heavy knocks, have to be particularly thorough with their rehabilitation.
An ACL injury typically takes around nine months for players to return to competitive action, meaning that Rashee Rice looks likely to miss the remainder of the 2024 NFL season. Even if the Chiefs go deep in the post-season, Rice would not be able to make it back before Super Bowl LIX on February 9, 2025.
Andy Reid revealed that Rice will undergo an MRI scan on Monday as the team seek to establish the extent of his injury. If it is the ACL, Rice will be added to the injured/reserve (IR) list for the remainder of the season.
Players are placed on the IR list when they have a football-related injury and will miss games. Those on the IR list don’t count against the active roster but will be unable to return for at least four weeks.