Last season, Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice looked nothing like the designated target for Patrick Mahomes that we were so used to seeing. The LCL and hamstring injury he suffered in 2024 had slowed him down. Last season’s six-game suspension and lingering concussion symptoms in December further affected his production. But the biggest struggle for him was against man-to-man coverage. The 2026 offseason was supposed to be a reset, but Chiefs reporter Nate Taylor has flagged something worrisome for the 26-year-old.

Rice underwent surgery this offseason to clean up debris in his right knee just a week before he was sent to jail for 30 days for violating his probation. He got special permission from the court to undergo his rehab at Parkland Hospital during his imprisonment. Coming back to the Chiefs’ camp, Rice participated in 11-on-11s last week, but something was missing.

“He’s still laboring at times on the field,” Nate Taylor said on KCSN’s Only Weird Games podcast. “There are some reps where that looks like Rashee Rice, and there are some reps like a one-on-one with Jadon Canady where it looks like he’s still laboring in terms of changing directions in and out of breaks with full power, full speed, starting and stopping. All of that is obviously tied to this procedure you had in May.”

Rice was limited to 8 games in 2025, through which he managed 53 of 78 catches for 571 yards and 5 touchdowns. This was notably the second-lowest production of his NFL career. A catch rate of 67.9% was also the lowest mark he’d posted in three seasons. To that effect, Taylor asked him in a recent presser what Rice wanted to improve the most this season, and he pointed to trying to make plays at every snap, regardless of whether he’s the target or not.

“I would want to improve the most on certain plays that I know specifically aren’t coming to me, just because it’s a full [passing] concept and everybody is going to eat,” Rice said. “Everybody’s got to get the ball.”

For help in this matter, the Chiefs have brought in a new wide receiver coach – Chad O’Shea, who’s responsible for helping the Chiefs’ wideouts up their game under strict discipline. From Nate Taylor’s perspective, it looks like “O’Shea has already gotten to him.”

“There were so many times last year where he wasn’t trying hard against man-to-man coverage because maybe that play wasn’t designed for him to get the ball,” Taylor said. “There were so many times last year where his intensity wavered or his focus was clearly lacking.”

Taylor also pointed to instances where other teams like the Buffalo Bills and the Houston Texans figured out when Rice wasn’t all-in on a play, and took advantage of it. Taylor’s mission for Rice this season is to get better against man-to-man coverage and keep trying to get open for Mahomes.

“He didn’t say anything about production,” Taylor added. “He didn’t say anything that was like a label, like, ‘I want to get better at route running.’ Well, that could mean a variety of things. But him actually saying, ‘I got to play hard and with intensity and with intent all the plays.’ Because there’s this thing we have called film, and people are studying your habits and, I don’t know. Sometimes the quarterback sees that the called play isn’t going to work. He would still like for you to work to get open.”

There’s a lot of work ahead for Rice if he wants to become Mahomes’ primary target on the field once again. Add his decreased movement to the equation, and it looks like Mahomes’ knee isn’t the only thing the Chiefs will have to look out for this season.