Everyone laughed in September — now Rashee Rice might be laughing his way to the Pro Bowl.QQ
The elements are in place for Rashee Rice’s season-ending totals to look pretty remarkable despite missing six games.
ByMatt Conner|Nov 8, 2025
A successful 2025 season for Rashee Rice was always going to hinge on his availability and steady production within the Chiefs’ offense. After a year prematurely ended by injury and a new one that began with a suspension, Kansas City would have been happy with Rice’s progress in 2025 if he’d just been healthy and reliable at season’s end.
It turns out Rice has been a bit more effective than that.
Despite missing every one of the Chiefs’ first six games of the season due to a suspension levied by the NFL to start the year, Rice has been nothing short of electric since his return to the team, an exhilarating exhibition of his elite talents that have proved Brett Veach was right about him all along.
Lest you forgot, dear reader, Veach went on the record multiple times this offseason about Rice’s potential, calling him one of the NFL’s top 10 wide receivers overall. For a player with one full season played coming off of major injury, it felt like a stretch to consider Rice in such elite company until proven otherwise. As it turns out, Rice is making Veach’s case on a weekly basis.
The elements are in place for Rashee Rice’s season-ending totals to look pretty remarkable despite missing six games.
In his first game back from suspension, Rice debuted against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 7 with a two-touchdown performance that cemented his role as Patrick Mahomes’ most trusted target. He had 10 targets on the afternoon, which was twice as much as any other Chiefs’ pass-catcher.
In Week 8, in a win over the Washington Commanders, Rice added another touchdown and caught all 9 of his targets for 90 receiving yards. Head coach Andy Reid also called a couple of plays with Rice out of the backfield, proof that the team is adding new wrinkles for the former second-round pick (2023) each week.
In Week 9 against the Buffalo Bills, Rice was once again in the center ring of the Chiefs’ offensive circus. He finished the game with 4 catches for 80 yards and got in the end zone with a rushing touchdown in the first half, adding 6 more yards on 2 carries.
Through three games played so far, Rice has totals of 20 catches for 215 receiving yards and 4 total touchdowns. That gives him per-game averages of 6.7 receptions, 71.7 yards, and 1 touchdown per game, which, if carried out for the rest of the season, would result in final regular-season marks of 73 catches for 788 receiving yards and 11 total touchdowns.
It’s safe to assume the Chiefs aren’t going to struggle to score points as long as the unit stays healthy. They’d averaged over 31 points scored in their last five games before Week 9, which is a good indication that Rice is going to continue to eat (since everybody’s gotta do it). If he’s the volume target in the passing attack for Patrick Mahomes, that means Rice is going to piece together a very impressive season, statistically speaking, despite sitting out the first six weeks.
Is it possible that Rice ends up being named to the Pro Bowl despite missing a third of a season? That feels far-fetched, and yet if it was ever going to happen, the right elements are in place to make it happen. Rice would need a couple of very big outings to bolster the yardage a bit more, but that certainly feels plausible given the parameters. Being the top playmaker on an elite offense that’s always going to emphasize the pass puts Rice in a prime position for some postseason accolades, even in a year where simply getting back on the field was a solid achievement.
