What Are The Chiefs’ Options To Replace Rashee Rice?

Kansas City’s receiving corps took another blow on Sunday with WR Rashee Rice exiting in the first quarter against the Chargers with a knee injury. Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes badly overthrew TE Travis Kelce near the sideline, leading to an easy interception for CB Kristian Fulton. Rice was tracking Fulton on the return and even forced a fumble, but Mahomes blindly dove into the pile and his receiver’s leg, delivering a scary-looking blow to Rice’s knee.

Mahomes’ decision was both reckless and dangerous, and the initial prognosis for Rice was not good. Rice was immediately carted into the locker room and Chiefs HC Andy Reid said after the game the injury was “not good.” Initial reports stated the Chiefs feared Rice had a torn ACL, and usually the scans are just a formality at that point. But since then Rice’s outlook has been murky and there’s a chance he avoided the worst-case scenario. The Chiefs are waiting for the swelling to go down in his knee before performing further testing.

In the meantime, the Chiefs placed Rice on injured reserve, knocking him out for at least the next four games and probably longer even if he avoided an ACL tear. Kansas City was already down free-agent signee Marquise Brown for at least the regular season after the speedy wide receiver injured his shoulder in the preseason. Rice had become Mahomes’ top target, developing into a reliable and explosive weapon in Reid’s offense.

Rice’s absence is massive and leaves Kansas City in dire straights. The receivers on this depth chart now are first-round WR Xavier Worthy, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Skyy Moore, Justin Watson and Mecole Hardman. Hardman is a gadget player, while Worthy is a deep threat who will take the occasional jet sweep. Everyone else is best described as a possession receiver. None of them are nearly as dynamic as Rice, nor capable of elevating the offense the way Rice did early this season.

Even for a Chiefs team that we’ve seen lose star skill players and keep on ticking, it feels like Kansas City will need to go outside the building for help on offense to keep their bid for a third straight title alive. Assets shouldn’t be an issue. The Chiefs have about $4.8 million in cap space to work with, and a restructure for Mahomes could open up as much as an additional $14 million. Kelce, RT Jawaan Taylor and LG Joe Thuney are also candidates for restructures if the Chiefs need the extra room. This gives them a great amount of flexibility in who they pursue. 

Let’s examine some of the top options:

Panthers WR Diontae Johnson

The Panthers offense is in the middle of a resurgence, subbing in Andy Dalton for Bryce Young at quarterback and turning a defunct offense into a minor juggernaut. Carolina scored 36 points in a win over the Raiders and 24 in a loss to the Bengals with Dalton in the lineup. Dalton’s play has elevated Johnson, as well, with the 28-year-old receiver grabbing 15 catches for 205 yards and two touchdowns in those two games.

Still, neither player seems like a big piece for the future. Johnson was acquired from the Steelers this past offseason for CB Donte Jackson and a late-round pick swap. The plan for Carolina this year was to improve the offensive infrastructure around Young, the No. 1 overall pick in 2023, after his disastrous rookie season. To that end, the Panthers traded for Johnson, drafted WR Xavier Legette with the last pick of the first round and overhauled their offensive line through free agency. The idea being, by surrounding Young with more talent, they’d get a better evaluation of his potential as their long-term starter.

Plans change, however, and Young was benched after Week 2 for his poor play. It’s unlikely the Panthers return Young to the lineup, short of an injury to Dalton, and as the losses stack up, eyes in Carolina will begin to shift towards the future. With Johnson on a one-year, $10 million deal and no dead money left on the books if he’s traded, moving him for an asset makes a lot of sense. Panthers’ ownership — and fans — aren’t going to be thrilled with another rebuild, but Johnson is a free agent after this season, and getting a draft pick off an expiring contract is the type of move bad teams make all the time.

For the Chiefs, getting Johnson from Carolina is the best-case scenario. He’s proven he can be the focal point of an offense, and he’s still in the prime of his career. He’s put up great numbers with bad quarterbacks and mediocre offenses and would get a chance to explode in Kansas City’s high-flying attack. He would give the Chiefs a reliable chain-mover on the outside who can get open against man coverage and as close to a like-for-life replacement to Rice as might be on the market. Johnson could even be re-signed after this season, if he performs well, and become a regular part of the Kansas City offense.

Titans WR DeAndre Hopkins

The Tennessee Titans are off to a 1-3 start. With a rookie head coach in Brian Callahan and a second-year quarterback in Will Levis, this was always going to be a transition season. Evaluating Levis was the primary purpose of the season, as Tennessee needed to know if he could be their quarterback of the future. The Titans signed a bunch of veterans across their roster to add experience and provide Levis with teammates he could rely on. 

Levis has been inconsistent, however, and the offense hasn’t exactly fired on all cylinders. Hopkins has only 10 catches for 121 yards and a touchdown in four games, near the team lead in all categories. Calvin Ridley is the Titans’ lead receiver, and it’s possible the Titans would be willing to move Hopkins for a draft pick, especially if Levis continues to struggle.

Hopkins is playing out the second year of a two-year deal signed in 2023. Any acquiring team would inherit a one-year, $10.5 million deal, while the Titans would be left with about $16 million in dead money. But trading Hopkins saves Tennessee the remainder of his salary in 2024 and adds a draft pick for the team to continue rebuilding.

It’s debatable if Hopkins would command his same current salary on the open market, but the Chiefs aren’t in a position to be picky. Regardless, a one-year rental is exactly what they need. Hopkins isn’t the dominating presence he was earlier in his career, when he was one of the best receivers in football, but he can still play and is surehanded. In a better offense with a more accurate quarterback, he could be more productive and help fill the void Rice’s absence leaves in Kansas City.

Browns WR Amari Cooper

It’s been a rough start to the season for the Browns, with a 1-3 record that includes losses to the Giants and Raiders, and Cooper has been part of the problem. He had key drops against both New York and Las Vegas, letting down his quarterback when Deshaun Watson was finally making some plays.

Through four games, Cooper leads the Browns in targets, but lags behind WR Jerry Jeudy for the team lead in receptions and yards (16 for 148). It’s an ignominious start to the season for Cooper, who has been the Browns’ most reliable receiver since coming over in a trade from the Cowboys back in 2022.

Lagging production as a No. 1 wideout led to Cooper being dealt to Cleveland in the first place, and it could be argued a similar sentiment is why the Raiders felt comfortable trading him to Dallas back in 2018. For as good as he is, Cooper has never been the lead man on a contending team, and if the Browns continue to lose games, they may be open to reshaping the roster a bit and adding an asset from an underperforming player.

Cooper is currently on the last year of his contract and is making just $1.21 million in base salary after Cleveland restructured his contract before training camp. That gives the Browns a ton of flexibility with Cooper as a trade asset because it removes any potential financial obstacles to a deal in terms of an acquiring team fitting Cooper onto their books, though it does mean the Browns will have paid Cooper for just part of a season. If Cooper isn’t in the Browns’ plans long-term, and this becomes a lost season, now is the time to trade him.

Cooper’s fit on the Chiefs is fairly clean. He would come in as a new No. 1 option for the remainder of this season, providing Mahomes with a key target with both Rice and Brown out. Cooper is comfortable on the outside but also skilled and sturdy enough to take up Rice’s role as a slot receiver and intermediate option. It would cost the Chiefs a Day 2 pick in all likelihood thanks to how low his salary is — and the Browns have to decide they’re ready to move on — but with extra Day 2 draft capital in 2025, the Chiefs have the ammunition for a move like this. 

Longshots

• Davante Adams: It’s unlikely Las Vegas would trade Adams within the division — though Kansas City reportedly is monitoring the veteran receiver. Adams is the most high-profile (and best) receiver currently being actively shopped, but the Chiefs would likely need to significantly outbid the competition to have a shot at landing him, and even then, it might not happen.
• Tee Higgins: This one is the longest of all longshots, for multiple reasons. The Bengals see themselves as a Super Bowl contender, and Higgins is one of their most important players. However, the Bengals are only 1-3, and if a few more losses stack up before the trade deadline, they may need to consider their options. Higgins is playing on the franchise tag and is unlikely to return in 2025. If this becomes a lost season for Cincinnati, they may need to consider the future. Higgins is playing on the franchise tag, which serves as a one-year, $21.8 million contract, the remainder of which would be absorbed by the Chiefs. Higgins would command a significant asset, and Kansas City would likely want to sign him to a long-term deal as part of the future, but would have to wait until after the season under the terms of the tag. However, it’s moot because the Bengals might be even less willing to trade with the Chiefs than the Raiders.
• Free agents: Hunter Renfrow and Michael Thomas are the two most notable wide receivers available on the open market. Both could fill a similar role to Rice, who thrived on beating underneath coverage. There’s likely a good reason they remained unsigned, however. Thomas doesn’t bring the same explosiveness Rice did, and his high-maintenance personality probably is not worth the production he can muster at this stage. Renfrow is just 28, but has fallen off the map since a breakout 2021 season and a resulting contract extension. Neither would move the needle the way these trade options would.