Wide receiver Rashee Rice had surgery last week to fix the posterolateral corner of his right knee, instead of the ACL that was initially believed to be injured during a win against the Chargers, Chiefs coach Andy Reid said on Monday.
The type of injury and surgery won’t change Rice’s recovery timeline significantly. He will still miss the rest of the season, and it’s uncertain if his knee will be ready for the start of training camp in July.
“It’s probably the same result you get timewise as an ACL. It takes a while for that to come back,” Reid said as the Chiefs resumed practice after their bye week. “He’ll get into his rehab and get rolling on that as we go here.”
The only other injury update involved pass rusher Mike Danna, who was dealing with a pectoral injury during the break.
The Chiefs are one of just two unbeaten teams left in the NFL, along with the Minnesota Vikings. They will play on Sunday at San Francisco in a rematch of the Super Bowl, which Kansas City won in February for its second straight Lombardi Trophy.
The Chiefs have faced several injuries at key positions, losing wide receiver Marquise Brown to shoulder surgery before the season and running back Isiah Pacheco to a fractured right fibula.
So far, they have managed to fill the gaps by bringing back some familiar players, including wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and running back Kareem Hunt.
Smith-Schuster caught seven passes for 130 yards, while Hunt ran 27 times for 102 yards and a touchdown in a 26-13 victory over the New Orleans Saints before the bye. This was Hunt’s first start for the Chiefs since they cut him due to off-field issues in 2018.
“I kind of joke with him (that) he spent the bye week in the cold tub after all those carries,” Reid said. “But I mentioned before, he came back in pretty good shape, other than not having played football, and that’s held true to this point.”
The Chiefs might also get running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire back this week. The former first-round draft pick started the season on the non-football illness list and worked with the scout team after being cleared to return two weeks ago.
“I want to get with him first before I put anything out there publicly,” Reid said, “but we’re awful glad to have him here.”
