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When will Rashee Rice return and play? Will Rashee Rice be back again this season? Read the latest Rashee Rice injury updates and return date for Week 17 (2025).
Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice was held out of their contest on Sunday due to a concussion. On Monday, Rice was unable to practice in their initial session and appears to be in danger of sitting out in Week 17.
Given that the Chiefs play on Thursday, the star wideout will not have as long a period to pass through the league's concussion protocol.
When will Rice return to action, and what is his fantasy football outlook when he does? Let's dive in.
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Rashee Rice Injury Update
Seeing Rice remain a non-participant during Monday's initial practice session is not a positive sign of his availability heading into their Christmas Day clash against the Denver Broncos. Leading up to Week 16, Rice was unable to practice at all due to this concussion.
Managers should continue to keep a close eye on his status on Tuesday and Wednesday, as he will need to return to full participation to pass the league's concussion protocol.
Given his current status, managers should not expect him to be available on Christmas when he faces the potent Denver secondary.
Estimated Chiefs injury report since there was no practice Monday. Appears Rashee Rice and Tyquan Thornton remain in concussion protocol. CB Jaylen Watson (groin) latest addition to injury list.
Gardner Minshew was placed on injured reserve, thus he is not listed. pic.twitter.com/8YXmtGLbfA
— Matt Derrick (@mattderrick) December 22, 2025
Rashee Rice Fantasy Football Outlook
With Rice trending towards missing the fantasy championships, managers should not expect him to hold much value during the final weeks of the season. While he could eventually return in Week 18 for managers who have their championship, his upside will be significantly limited to the state of Kansas City's QB room.
With Patrick Mahomes (knee) done for the year with a torn ACL, the Chiefs turned to backup Gardner Minshew on Sunday. However, Minshew suffered an ACL injury himself in this contest and is now out for the season. This leaves Chris Oladokun and Shane Buechele as the only healthy options on the active roster.
.@1Chrisoladokun0 🇳🇬 #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/O2wGEBnYC0
— NFL Africa (@NFLAfrica) December 22, 2025
In relief of Minshew, Oladokun went 11-for-16 with 111 yards and no scores. Even if Rice can progress enough to suit up in Week 17, he will hold low-end WR3 value given the rough matchup against the Denver defense that has allowed the ninth-fewest PPR points to opposing RBs and the sub-par projected QB play under center.
He would only be worth starting in deeper 12+ team formats as a FLEX option.
Who Should I Start Tool
Not sure who to start? Check out the Who Should I Start tool:
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 17 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Rico Dowdle, Kyle Monangai, Colston Loveland, Jakobi Meyers, RJ Harvey, Audric Estime, Michael Carter, Blake Corum. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 17. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 17 of the 2025 NFL season. Our free Who Should I Start? tool will help make your fantasy football lineup decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to start... all free! Get your winning lineups set, and make the right decisions.
Week 17 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - Rico Dowdle, Kyle Monangai, Colston Loveland, Jakobi Meyers, RJ Harvey, Audric Estime, Michael Carter, Blake Corum. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 17.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player name. In the second box, search for the second player name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed that our 'Who Should I Start?' tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, players news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do, is to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circle), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 17 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 17 (2025)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 17 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular Week 17 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool for Rico Dowdle, Kyle Monangai, Colston Loveland, Jakobi Meyers, RJ Harvey, Audric Estime, Michael Carter, Blake Corum compared to others:
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