The Kansas City Chiefs will once again be without their top receiver Rashee Rice, but this time his absence is due to a suspension instead of an injury. Rice has decided to accept a 6-game suspension that will start Week 1 of the NFL season, per Dianna Russini. This news finally answers a big question fantasy football players had going into their drafts.
The fact that Rice will miss the first six games instead of six games at an unknown point in the season, is good news for his fantasy prospects. Of course six games missed knocks him down the rankings, but we should get 10 games out of him if we make the fantasy playoffs. And we don’t need to worry about him being suspended during the fantasy playoffs either.
Last season Rice got off to a blistering pace, but that was short lived, as he tore his LCL in the fourth game of the season. When he returns, he should be able to fit right back with the team, as he is already recovered from his injury and played this preseason. He will need to get back to NFL speed, which is never as easy as it sounds, but his fantasy value should pick back up where it was for the most part.
Fantasy fallout for Chiefs pass catchers not named Rice
Xavier Worthy will get the biggest bump, as he also came on strong last season late in the season with Rice out. He has a real chance to make a leap in his second year as Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense try to return to the big play team they were earlier in Mahomes’ career.
After Worthy, Marquise Brown also should see a decent amount of work while Rice is out, but Brown has also missed time this preseason with an ankle injury, but he has returned to practice and should play Week 1. Mahomes does spread the ball around well, but there’s no doubt Worthy and Brown are the playmakers at this point, while Travis Kelce is the chain mover. As for Kelce, this news should get him plenty of targets and receptions early in the season. His PPR floor remains good despite his noticeable decline last season.
