Andy Reid on Chiefs' Internal and Trade Options After Rashee Rice Injury

With Rashee Rice injured, Andy Reid talked about some internal options for the Chiefs and explained why it's tricky adding players in-season via trade.

Sep 29, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid looks on against the Los Angeles Chargers in the second half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Kansas City Chiefs' offense got the job done in Week 4 against the Los Angeles Chargers, but things could get a lot more difficult moving forward if wide receiver Rashee Rice misses extended time.

Rice suffered a knee injury in the first quarter of Sunday's game, getting rolled up on by quarterback Patrick Mahomes following an interception and subsequent return. While official news on the ailment isn't available as of the publishing of this article, Kansas City is reportedly fearing a torn ACL for its star pass catcher.

Head coach Andy Reid, speaking to the media on Monday afternoon, didn't have much of an update on Rice's status.

"As far as Rashee's injury goes, we're still testing him on things here," Reid said. "So I don't have a definite for you right now, but we will get it to you. He's not going to be available, obviously, this week so we're going to make sure we get all of the tests that need to be done, done, and then we'll let you know on that."

He did, however, share thoughts on internal and external options to replace the club's leading receiver. Starting with rookie Xavier Worthy, Reid believes the first-round pick is capable of doing more but shouldn't be demanded to given the players around him.

"Yeah, we'll see how he does," Reid said. "We have guys here that have experience of playing in a game, so I mean, it's not that he's the only one [and] doesn't have to be the only one. We've got a good group of guys there that we can utilize. We normally spread the ball around, and that's what we'll continue to strive to do."

One of those supporting cast members is Skyy Moore, whom the franchise added in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Following a down couple of years, Moore was demoted on the depth chart and has yet to register a meaningful statistic this season. He dropped the lone pass he had a chance to haul in on Sunday. Even with the underwhelming output from Moore, Reid isn't losing faith in him.

"Skyy's a good football player," Reid said. "He's given us some good downs. He had the one drop yesterday on the third down that he knows he has to make, but he's given us some good downs over these four games. We're OK there."

Nor is he casting aside JuJu Smith-Schuster, who enjoyed a productive 2022 campaign in Kansas City and is still finding his footing in his second act with the team.

"Yeah, for sure," Reid said. "I think he's played quite a bit up to this point. I think he's in good shape, and I don't think that's a problem. Pat's got a lot of trust in him. He's still a good football player, yeah."

Should Rice miss an extended period of time and/or have his season cut short, it's possible that the Chiefs make a move to bring in a receiver via trade. Given how important Rice is to the offense, as well as Marquise "Hollywood" Brown potentially missing the regular season, it'd make a lot of sense. Reid thinks there's a world where doing something like that wouldn't be too challenging, although the process still takes time. That's something to consider as Kansas City weighs its options and awaits Rice news.

"Depending on who the guy is," Reid said. "That's the reality of the situation. If he's got experience in the offense, then it's not too bad. But it takes somebody a little bit of time to get himself involved and get the terminology down. It's a lot easier now than it is during training camp when they have to learn a gazillion plays. Here, they just have the game week to learn. Getting on the same page with the quarterback and the timing, all that, that's a bigger issue normally."

Read More: Winners and Losers from the Chiefs' Week 4 Victory Over the Chargers