The Kansas City Chiefs are getting set for their first preseason game on Saturday, taking on the Arizona Cardinals with an opportunity to start a new march toward another Super Bowl.
Injuries were a major theme of the 2024 campaign, and keeping players on the field is a priority in 2025. Unfortunately, we've seen guys like Marquise 'Hollywood' Brown, Drue Tranquill, Jawaan Taylor, and now Rashee Rice already miss training camp practices with various ailments. Rice, in particular, is key to watch with his pending possible suspension expected to be announced soon by the NFL.
Rice went down on Wednesday, but still worked with trainers on the side. On Thursday, the Chiefs got some big news regarding his status before Saturday's contest.
Andy Reid confirmed Rashee Rice’s groin issue is considered minor, said they’re holding him out as a precaution.
— Pete Sweeney (@pgsween) August 7, 2025
Andy Reid Confirms Rashee Rice's Injury Is Minor
Speaking to the media on Thursday, head coach Andy Reid confirmed that Rice's groin issue is considered minor. The Chiefs are holding the third-year wideout out as a precaution, so fans shouldn't be too concerned about his availability.
You'd be forgiven for having flashbacks to last season, when the budding star suffered a season-ending injury in Week 4. He looked like a top-five receiver early in the campaign, putting up 24 catches for 288 yards and two TDs in the first three contests. Over a 17-game sample, that projects to 136 catches for 1,632 receiving yards and just over 11 TDs. Those are First-Team All-Pro numbers, and one can only dream about what Rice can do when fully healthy.
At most, Kansas City's starters will play a series or two on Saturday. Reid has a specific way of handling the preseason, rarely wavering, and we shouldn't expect to see much action out of Rice. The staff may hold him out since he'll likely be suspended early in the year anyway, and there are plenty of back-end wideouts to evaluate, but it'd still be nice to see Rice back out there catching a pass from Patrick Mahomes.
Either way, Chiefs Kingdom can breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that Rice seems to be alright. For now, all that's left to wait on is the suspension news, which could come as soon as this weekend.