KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In the box score, the short pass from Patrick Mahomes to Rashee Rice resulted in a simple 7-yard gain. The play was memorable for Mahomes, the Kansas City Chiefs’ quarterback, based on how he and Rice, the second-year receiver, created their completion.
The last time the Chiefs’ starters were on the field was over two weeks ago, the second preseason game against the Detroit Lions, the last dress rehearsal before the team opens the 2024 NFL season Thursday night against the Baltimore Ravens. Against the Lions, Mahomes’ primary passing option was on the left side of the formation, the opposite of where Rice lined up. When Mahomes didn’t like what he saw to his left after the ball was snapped, he quickly turned his eyes to the right, to Rice, who was in a matchup against cornerback Khalil Dorsey.
“He won against a guy in man-to-man coverage and caught the ball and (made) a positive play,” Mahomes said of Rice after the game. “Those are the little things he’s going to continue to get better and better at. He can always work in space and catch the ball and run with explosion, which is super important.
“But I think he’s getting better and better at just winning one-on-one (matchups) with routes and that’s going to help his game go to that next level.”
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Rice created plenty of space with a crisp whip route in the middle of the field, finishing the reception by carrying Dorsey for 4 additional yards.
The play was significant for Mahomes and Rice because they can envision making a play like that — perhaps over and over and over again — against the Ravens. While general manager Brett Veach and coach Andy Reid spent the offseason upgrading the Chiefs’ receiving corps, even adding seven-year veteran JuJu Smith-Schuster just last week, the most consistent receiver in training camp was Rice. Every prominent member of the Chiefs offense — including Reid, Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce — has agreed emphatically that Rice has improved in just about every aspect.
“One part is the conditioning part of it and how much you’ve got to play and how fast you have to play every play,” Reid said Sunday. “I thought his feel for space (against zone coverage) was another (part). By the end of (last) season, he could roll and he had a great feel for what Patrick was looking for and what the coaches were looking for and he was able to execute that and play fast.”
Rice is cookin’ once again 🍚@PatrickMahomes x @RiceRashee11 pic.twitter.com/oVrpo1kRAB
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) July 23, 2024
As a rookie last season, Rice was the Chiefs’ best receiver. He recorded 79 receptions for 938 yards and a team-high seven touchdowns. During the Chiefs’ four-game postseason run, Rice added 26 receptions — the most for a rookie in league history — for 262 yards and a touchdown.
Rice, 6-foot-1 and 204 pounds, demonstrated better speed, hands and route running ability throughout training camp. Last year, Rice made many of his highlights running crossing routes, plays that allowed him to create plenty of yards after the catch. But in camp, Reid and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy were impressed when they evaluated Rice on more complex routes into the intermediate and deep areas of the field, even routes that included a double move.
“It’s a lot more fun if we’re running deep,” Rice said last month. “If Pat’s having fun, we’re having fun. Our chemistry is going to continue to grow.
“Honestly, the next step for me is to bring the guys around me up. We have (rookie receiver) Xavier (Worthy) here, so whatever I learned last year he needs to learn right now so that we can continue to grow together.”
One reason Rice, 24, has been asked to progress as a receiver is because the Chiefs added Worthy, the first-round pick who ran the 40-yard dash at the NFL combine in a record-setting 4.21 seconds. Against the Ravens, Worthy is expected to run plenty of deep routes. Alongside Rice and Worthy will be Kelce, the league’s best tight end who could attract two defenders throughout the game. If that happens, Rice might find himself in plenty of one-on-one matchups to catch intermediate passes from Mahomes.
“I think he’s going to be a lot better this year, honestly, just the way he’s able to run routes,” Mahomes said. “It was coming along at the end of last year, but he worked on it this whole offseason and he’s in great shape.”
A Pat scramble with some Rice on the side 🍽️@PatrickMahomes x @RiceRashee11 pic.twitter.com/TSJhyMnetD
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) August 2, 2024
In late March, before the Chiefs began their offseason program, Rice was involved in a multi-vehicle crash in northeast Dallas, according to police. He was the driver of a Lamborghini sport utility vehicle that caused the crash, which created a chain-reaction collision involving four other vehicles, police said. Rice and Theodore Knox, a cornerback at SMU, fled the scene, according to police. Rice is facing one count of aggravated assault, one count of collision involving serious bodily injury and six counts of collision involving injury.
Brian McCarthy, a league spokesman, said in a news video conference last week that despite his legal problems, Rice wouldn’t be placed on the league’s commissioner’s exempt list — which allows the league to remove a player facing felony charges from the playing field and take that disciplinary decision away from the team — “unless there is a material change in the case.” Jeff Miller, the NFL’s executive vice president of communications, public affairs and policy, said the league will continue to closely monitor any legal developments regarding Rice.
Less than a week after Rice turned himself in at the Glenn Heights Police Department in Texas, records showed Rice was booked and released on a $40,000 bond, he returned to work, participating in every aspect of the Chiefs’ offseason program.
A year ago, Rice was projected to be the Chiefs’ fourth receiver on the team’s depth chart, behind Kadarius Toney, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Justin Watson. But when Kelce missed the season opener against the Lions with a knee injury, the Chiefs learned quickly that Rice could be relied upon, as he finished the game with three receptions for 29 yards and a touchdown.
Watson, a seventh-year veteran and the Chiefs’ oldest receiver (28), expects Rice to have a bigger impact in Thursday’s game against the Ravens after watching his teammate’s development.
“To think where he was at this time last year to where he’s at now, even watching a couple of those (preseason) plays (against the Lions), he caught a 6-yard stick route and before the ball was even in the air he was already turning and starting to run upfield because he felt the space (against the zone coverage) and Pat was throwing him upfield,” Watson said. “You see a lot of those same things with (Mahomes) and Travis. I think Rashee is in an awesome place. It’s been cool to see. I think he’s going to be a great leader for our (receivers) room this year.”
(Photo: Denny Medley / USA Today)
