Rashee Rice Placed on IR, Chiefs Have Three Players Limited in Thursday's Practice

The Chiefs have officially placed wide receiver Rashee Rice on the injured reserve list, while three other Chiefs were limited in practice on Thursday.

Sep 29, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice (4) leaves the field following the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Kansas City Chiefs have officially placed wide receiver Rashee Rice on the injured reserve list. Rice will now miss at least the next four games of the 2024 season due to a knee injury suffered against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 4. Could Rice return this season? According to head coach Andy Reid, the team still doesn't know for sure.

When Reid spoke to the media several hours before the team ultimately placed Rice on IR, Reid said the team would still be waiting for further information regarding Rice's knee before making long-term judgements about Rice's chance to return in 2024.

"I think it's just wait-and-see, is where we're at," Reid said. "For his sake, we're really hoping that things work out for the best, but let's just see where it goes and leave it up to the doctors to see. I'm definitely not a doctor."

Ultimately, Rice's move to IR shouldn't be surprising or particularly alarming, given the public information at this time. Even Rice's best-case scenario — a more minor knee injury of almost any sort — seemed set to sideline KC's No. 1 receiver for at least four games. Rice's short-term absence should have been expected. His long-term health may still present cause for hope as he and the team await further testing.

Three Chiefs limited in Thursday's practice

In other news worth noting ahead of KC's Week 5 matchup against the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football, three Chiefs were limited during Thursday's practice, meaning that the trio participated in some but not all of Thursday's action.

Running back Kareem Hunt (shoulder), defensive end Mike Danna (calf) and wide receiver Mecole Hardman (knee) were all limited, according to the team. Danna missed KC's game in Los Angeles due to his calf issue, but Hunt and Hardman were not listed on last week's injury report, meaning these are new injuries for the duo of offensive playmakers.

Hunt was the Chiefs' featured back in the first game of his second tenure with the Chiefs, leading the team in carries (14) and rushing yards (69) by a wide margin. Hardman took 10 offensive snaps in Rice's absence in LA as the team sought to find answers in their wide receiver group.

Of the three, Hunt's injury is the most concerning for the Chiefs' Monday night showdown. Undrafted rookie Carson Steele has fumbled twice in his 28 carries through the first four weeks, and while the Chiefs have opened the practice window for Clyde Edwards-Helaire, he has three weeks to ramp up to action before being activated, so he may not be ready to go by Monday. If Hunt is out, Steele and 29-year-old Samaje Perine would be KC's likely top-two runners as Isiah Pacheco continues to recover on IR.

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