The Kansas City Chiefs' offense has looked much better lately, and they're about to get their best weapon back. No. 1 wide receiver Rashee Rice is officially eligible to return after serving his seveng-game suspension for violating the league's personal conduct policy.
Of course, that's great news for quarterback Patrick Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid. Rice has emerged as the team's primary weapon since joining the team, and he's going to open up more opportunities for the offense. At the same time, his return spells bad news for rookie teammate Jalen Royals.
Chiefs WR Jalen Royals Will Struggle with Rashee Rice's Return
The Chiefs took Royals out of Georgia in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL draft, and while he seemed to be a part of their plans, an injury kept him on the shelf in the first three weeks. Then, his playing time has dropped each game, with him totalling one snap in Week 6, bringing him to just 19 offensive snaps in three games. Now, with Rice back, there will be little to no room for Royals.
Xavier Worthy should be the Chiefs' WR2, with Marquise 'Hollywood' Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Tyquan Thornton rotating in the third spot. That's without mentioning how tight end Travis Kelce will get his targets and, to a lesser degree, Noah Gray as well.
That leaves no room for the talented fourth-round rookie, who might now have to settle for taking the field on special teams. All in all, those are the growing pains of being a rookie, much more one who plays for a Super Bowl contender, so Royals will just have to keep his head down and continue working.
Even so, as much as Rice will make a big impact right off the bat, Reid didn't want to make any promises about his playing time in Week 7:
“I’m not going to tell you (how much he’ll play)," Reid said, per A to Z Sports. "I’ve got to see it to kind of work through it (at practice), but I know he’s in good shape. That’s the one thing I do know, and I think that’ll be important — him coming back in there and getting with Patrick, and kind of getting on the same page, as you know, in that whole deal. But we’ll just see how all that works out. We haven’t put the game plan in yet, so we’re working through all that now.”
Royals has yet to record a target or any stat on offense, and if Rice isn't fully ready to go or a little rusty, Week 7 might be his final chance to prove that he's worth getting involved.