Chiefs’ Mahomes was unaware until replay he hit WR Rice’s knee

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Patrick Mahomes said he didn’t know initially he was the one who accidentally collided with the knee of Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice in last week’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Then he saw the replay on the SoFi Stadium videoboard. 

“When I saw the replay, I felt like s— that I hit Rashee,” Mahomes said Thursday of the play in which he, Rice and other players were chasing a Chargers fumble that followed an interception. “I wasn’t really worried about myself. I was worried about his injury and hopefully that it wasn’t as bad as it looked. I was the one that hit him.

“I didn’t notice it in the moment. I was more worried about trying to get the ball. Obviously, he’s just trying to make a play, and it happens whenever you’re trying to make tackles.”

Rice was knocked out of the game with a knee injury and did not practice with the Chiefs on Thursday. Coach Andy Reid said Rice would not play in Monday night’s game against the New Orleans Saints at Arrowhead Stadium.

The Chiefs won’t know more about the extent of the injury until next week, Reid said Thursday, adding that Rice was waiting on the swelling to be reduced in his injured knee before undergoing further testing.

The Chiefs placed Rice on injured reserve Thursday, sidelining him for at least the next four games.

“We’re really hoping that things work out for the best, but let’s just see where it goes and leave it up to the doctors to see,” Reid said.

“Rashee’s had a phenomenal year. Unfortunately, in this league injuries happen, and life goes on, so we always expected the next guys to step up and roll and it’s no different now. There’s not another Rashee. There [are] other guys though that are very, very good so we’ll be fine.”

Also Thursday, running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire began his three-week practice window to return from the non-football injury list. Edwards-Helaire hasn’t played this season. He said during training camp that he is battling issues with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) stemming from an incident in college.

Reid said Edwards-Helaire would initially practice with the scout team.

“We’ll just get him back into the swing of things here and see how he does,” Reid said. “He’s in good shape, he’s been working out, so just get him back into the football [mode].”