Rashee Rice (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)

The Chiefs lost their top receiver in the first quarter of Sunday’s game against the Chargers when wideout Rashee Rice had to be carted to the locker room after taking a direct hit to the knee from quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported at the time that there were mounting fears that he may have suffered a torn ACL.

“Chiefs WR Rashee Rice is feared to have suffered a torn ACL during Sunday’s game vs the Chargers, per sources,” Schefter wrote on Twitter/X on Sunday night. “There will be additional testing to confirm the initial diagnosis.”

After reports on Sunday night indicated that the team feared Rice suffered a torn ACL, Adam Schefter of ESPN appeared on NFL Live and provided some much-needed optimism regarding Rice’s status.

“Here’s what we know right now,” Schefter said. “We do know that Rashee Rice is going to miss an extended period of time. We do not yet know that that ACL is torn. He’s continuing to go through testing, and there has not yet been confirmation that it is torn, as the Chiefs feared in the postgame locker room after they beat the Chargers. Again, it’s going to be a bad knee injury, but they’re hoping that it’s not as bad as they feared. He’s still going through the testing.”

Schefter noted that even in the best-case scenario, Rice should be expected to “miss an extended period of time.”

Additional testing will confirm the diagnosis, but Rashee Rice might be able to return during the 2024 season.

The situation came about after Mahomes threw an interception to Chargers’ cornerback Kristian Fulton and then attempted to tackle him. However, his eagerness to make a play caused him to hit Rice unintentionally square in the knee.