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When is Rashee Rice coming back? Will Rashee Rice play again this season? Read about Rashee Rice's return date and injury updates for 2026.
Rashee Rice can't return soon enough for the Kansas City Chiefs, whose passing game stalled in Seattle. The wide receiver missed Sunday's 20-3 loss with a hamstring injury, leaving fantasy managers waiting another week.
Rice has not been cleared for Kansas City's Week 8 visit to the Denver Broncos on November 1, and his latest completed practice week offered little encouragement: he missed all three sessions before being ruled out against the Seattle Seahawks.
When will Rice return and what is the latest update? Let's dive in!
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Rashee Rice Injury Update for Fantasy Football
Kansas City's Week 5 bye did not fix the problem. Rice injured his hamstring in the Week 4 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on October 4.
The extra time was still not enough for him to play against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 6 or Seattle in Week 7.
Rice never advanced to even a limited practice in Week 7, even though Andy Reid reported progress ahead of the Seattle game.
The Chiefs listed both hamstring and knee issues on his injury report, and he did not practice Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.
A Week 8 return is in question. Denver is Rice's next opportunity, but Kansas City has not announced a comeback date, and he was absent from every practice before Seattle.
Kansas City has played twice since its bye without Rice, and a third straight absence would push his next chance to return to November 8 at home against the New York Jets.
Rashee Rice Fantasy Football Outlook
Rice is a hold in all standard redraft formats, and his modest season total is partly a playing-time problem: his catches rose in each of the first three games before the hamstring injury cut off that improvement.
Rice can produce without a touchdown, which is why he is worth keeping through the missed games.
He caught four passes for 83 yards against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 2, then seven for 88 against the Miami Dolphins, and those games produced 12.3 and 15.8 PPR points without a score.
Across Kansas City's first three games, Rice totaled 13 receptions for 190 yards and a touchdown, following 53 catches for 571 yards and five receiving touchdowns in eight games in 2025.
Rice's case for targets in a Week 8 return is strong, with the group around him depleted. Tyquan Thornton is on injured reserve after dislocating his ankle in the same Raiders game.
If Rice returns against Denver, he would rejoin a group still missing Thornton, with Xavier Worthy and Travis Kelce carrying much of the receiving responsibility.
Rice's return would hand Patrick Mahomes another established receiving option after a difficult night.
Worthy's results during Rice's absence show why he is a volatile substitute: he caught seven passes for 73 yards against the Chargers, then managed three for 11 in Seattle.
Kelce added four catches for 44 yards Sunday, but neither player reached the end zone.
19 yards from Mahomes to Kelce on third down
KCvsSEA on NBC/Peacock
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/UAbdC9iBOJNFL (@NFL) October 26, 2026
Don't project a huge return game just because the Chiefs need him.
Denver also kept Rice's receiving yardage down in the opener, when he finished with two catches for 19 yards and salvaged his fantasy day with a touchdown in Kansas City's 31-10 win.
Chiefs re-take the lead
DENvsKC on ESPN
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/svIOKtUngnNFL (@NFL) September 15, 2026
I'd treat Rice as a WR2 only if he returns to full practice and enters Sunday without a restriction.
A limited week followed by a questionable designation makes him a riskier flex, particularly for a manager choosing between him and a healthy receiver with steady targets.
His 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff also means an early-game replacement may lock before his availability is settled.
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Week 8 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players: Xavier Worthy, Rashee Rice, Travis Kelce. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 8.
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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, player news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
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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 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 8 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 8 (2026)? 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 8 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for Week 8 for Xavier Worthy, Rashee Rice, Travis Kelce:
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