Rashee Rice’s situation gets more complicated as time passes. After the Chargers game, Andy Reid was feeling “not good” about the receiver’s condition. It was later revealed that Rice had to go through an MRI to get further clarification on his condition, but not enough information came after his doctor’s visit. Later, HC Andy Reid mentioned earlier that Rice would have to go through “further tests” to determine the nature of his injury. So, here we are.

However, Ian Rapoport came out at the right time and provided the latest updates on Rice’s injury. Per the ESPN analyst, there is a “glimmer of hope” that the Kansas City Chiefs receiver might hit the turf soon. But before that, Rice has some major roadblocks to tackle because he might have to go through surgery.

Rapoport’s post on X read, “#Chiefs star WR Rashee Rice will visit respected surgeon Dr. Dan Cooper to have a procedure early this week to determine the severity of his knee injury and what’s next. There is a (small) glimmer of hope.” But with this ‘glimmer of hope,’ the Kansas City Chiefs face a major conundrum.

Dr. Cooper, who also happens to be the Dallas Cowboys team doctor will help determine Rice’s injury with the means of an arthroscopic procedure. So far, Rapoport pointed out one of three things that can ‘likely happen’ to the second-year wide receiver out of SMU. Here are the scenarios:

• Damage to PCL and LCL, no damage to ACL
• ACL and supporting ligaments can also be damaged and might require reconstruction surgery
• Or else, limited damage to supporting ligament (no requirement of surgery)

It may take 2-9 months depending on the severity of his injury. But the hope is that there isn’t any extreme damage, and he will bounce back in 4-6 weeks. However, the chances of that happening are very dull. But nobody knows for certain right now. But Adam Schefter pointed out that we might get a status on his injury by Monday, but take it with a grain of salt.

This news might hamper Andy Reid’s plans of finding a new receiver for Patrick Mahomes and save their struggling offense.

Will the Chiefs need a new receiver for Patrick Mahomes in Rashee Rice’s absence?

The hope for a 4–6-week recovery time might have put Andy Reid in a weird spot. It would be hard to decide whether to hire a new wideout or to wait for Rice to get healthy. However, the fact remains that the Chiefs have $15 million in cap space, which they can use to hire a new WR or save it so that it rolls over to next year’s cap space.

An educated guess would be that the Kansas City Chiefs are looking to sign DeAndre Hopkins, who is in the last year of his deal with the Tennessee Titans. The Davante Adams trade is out of the window because if that happens, the Raiders will have to pay a part of his salary, which might never happen, given their rivalry. Other options such as Diontae Johnson (Panthers), Amari Cooper (Browns), Christian Kirk (Jaguars), and Damarcus Robinson (Rams) are still at KC’s disposal.

Before Patrick Mahomes collided with the receiver’s knee, Rice amassed 24 receptions over 288 yards and scored two touchdowns. Again, whether he’ll score more touchdowns this season is still up in the air. “For his sake, we’re really hoping things work out for the best,” Reid said Monday, “but let’s just see where it goes.”