Despite Rashee Rice's knee injury not being as severe as initially thought, it is unlikely that the Chiefs' wideout will play again this season, according to ESPN.
Rice underwent surgery to repair his knee on Tuesday, and during the surgery it was confirmed that Rice's LCL was the only core ligament that needed repaired, according to NFL Media. Rice is expected to make a full recovery.
Rice was recently placed on injured reserve after injuring his knee during Kansas City's Week 4 win over the Las Angeles Chargers. The injury occurred after Rice collided with teammate Patrick Mahomes when trying to make a tackle after an interception.
The injury is a significant one for the Chiefs, who are also dealing with injuries to fellow wideout Marquise Brown (shoulder) and running back Isiah Pacheco (fibula). Rice played an integral role on the Chiefs' successful defense of their Super Bowl title last year by catching 24 passes for 288 yards and two scores this season prior to getting injured.
Losing Rice hurts, but the Chiefs do have depth that includes tight end Travis Kelce, receivers Xavier Worthy and JuJu Smith-Schuster and running back Kareem Hunt. Hunt had 102 yards and a score in Monday night's win over the Saints. Smith-Schuster had a game-high 130 receiving yards, while Kelce had a season-high nine catches as the Chiefs improved to 5-0..