ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Take a big-picture look at Kansas City Chiefs training camp, and the team’s top offensive skill player is undoubtedly quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

At No. 2, though? Perhaps just as clear-cut is that the team’s next-best guy is third-year receiver Rashee Rice.

That reality comes even as Rice continues to make his way back from a season-ending knee injury he suffered in Week 4 last year.

“I feel 100 percent,” Rice said after Saturday’s practice. “I’m excited to be back out here with the guys. It’s basically back where I left off at. So the only thing is get back on the field and just continue to have fun doing what I do.”

Last year, Rice injured the LCL in his right knee after Mahomes hit him while trying to make a tackle following an interception. Rice said, in the end, he was relieved that he only suffered a few partial tears.

“Something that could have been a lot bigger, ended up not being as big,” Rice said, “and I took advantage of that.”

The timing of Rice’s injury has meant he’s been mostly a full-go for offseason workouts, which included training with Mahomes during his Texas passing camp in April.

And now, some four months later?

“I feel better than I felt last year,” Rice said.

And who knows how much Rice would’ve accomplished in 2024 if his knee didn’t buckle in late September. He had 24 catches for 288 yards and two touchdowns in 3 1/2 games, while statistically pacing toward becoming a top-10 wideout in the league.

This year, however, he seems destined to be sidelined at the start for a different reason.

Rice is expected to face an NFL suspension soon after recently settling his legal matter involving a 2024 road-racing incident on a Dallas highway. That penalty could start at the beginning of this season.

On Saturday, Rice said his legal team was continuing to work on his behalf as he’s been training with the Chiefs on Missouri Western’s campus.

“All I can do is focus on what I can control right now,” Rice said, “and that’s me doing what I do best right here on the field.”

If Rice is suspended, he’ll have to remain away from the team facility before getting a short ramp-up phase where he can return. He vowed to keep himself ready if he faced an early suspension and needed to train on his own.

“I’m locked in. This is what I do. This is my job. This is what I love to do,” Rice said. “So, even when I’m not able to be out there with my team, I’m gonna still be working as hard as I can so I can be back out there with them as soon as possible.”

Chiefs coach Andy Reid said earlier this week that he was pleased with what he’d seen from Rice in recent months; the Chiefs’ 2023 second-round pick has easily been the most targeted by Mahomes during the first two weeks of practice.

“He’s done a nice job off the field. He’s doing a nice job on the field,” Reid said. “Sometimes you learn from your mistakes. That’s the important part. And then on the field, he’s just been full speed ahead.”

After missing most of last season, Rice said he has a new appreciation for the opportunity he has when he’s able to return to games.

The Chiefs certainly stand to benefit, whenever that day comes.

“This right here, us being able to be on the field and be able to be coached by Coach Reid and have such a great quarterback, it’s honestly a gift,” Rice said. “It’s a blessing.”

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