KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In an NFL month defined by its player movement, expensive contracts and inflated markets, the Chiefs secured the best wide receiver addition in 2025.

And it didn’t cost them a thing.

Rashee Rice, who missed all but the opening month last season after knee surgery, is expected be ready to participate in training camp in July, Chiefs coach Andy Reid said when asked by The Kansas City Star during the NFL Annual Meetings in West Palm Beach, Fla.

“He’s on track to be ready,” Reid said. “We’ll see. He’s working his tail off right now, I know.”

Rice was injured in Week 4, the aftermath of the friendly-fire impact of quarterback Patrick Mahomes trying to make a tackle on an interception.

It ended his season.

It altered the Chiefs’ season.

Rice was leading the NFL in receptions through three weeks before the collision with his quarterback. He was second in yards.

But the story of his impact — the story of what the Chiefs lost — is not solely in his production. It’s the type of production.

We have talked for years about how defensive coordinators are playing a Mahomes and Reid offense — for years only because, well, it’s been relevant for years. After his 5,000-yard, 50-touchdown season, defenses almost in unison decided to take away the deep throws and make Mahomes beat them short. Make him stay patient.

Even after the Super Bowl loss just two months ago, Mahomes mentioned it as the point in need of most attention this offseason.

Rice was a long-awaited reply.

And it worked.

In 2023, his rookie year in which he certainly endured a learning curve before a late-season surge, Rice was among the very best short-yardage receivers in football. I don’t mean the best among rookies — but the best among all wide receivers.

That year, Rice was the top-graded wide receiver among throws behind the line of scrimmage, per PFF. He led the NFL in catches and yards on those throws and turned more of them into first downs than any other player. On short throws (1-10 yards downfield), he was similarly effective.

Between the two combined — passes thrown behind the line of scrimmage and those thrown within the initial 10 yards — Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown converted 59 of them into first downs between the regular and postseasons. That led the league.

Second most: It was Rice. A rookie totaled 43.

It’s not as though this is a list of low-impact receivers, either. Those also on this list behind St. Brown and Rice: CeeDee Lamb, DJ Moore, Puka Nacua and AJ Brown.

They aren’t the most flashy plays. They’re just the opposite, in fact.

But who cares? They’re the easiest throws on the field. If teams want to dare Mahomes to take what’s directly in front of his face — and you have a guy who can turn them into first downs — does it matter how you moved the sticks?

As Mahomes scrambled for an outlet in New Orleans, the Eagles pressuring him with only four and leaving numbers in the defensive backfield, think it might have helped to have a player who was effective after the catch rather than before it?

“He gets the ball in his hands, and he’s got a little bit of running back in him,” Reid said of Rice. “He’s tough, big, physical (and) not afraid to play in the middle of the field.”

That’s the player they need back.

At some point.

It’s evident that Rice is facing a league suspension for his involvement in a high-speed crash last summer. The NFL waits for cases to resolve themselves before suspending players. His case has not yet been resolved.

That’s one question that hovers of his season, even after he participates in his first training camp practice since the injury.

Here’s another: How quickly can he return to form?

On Monday in West Palm Beach, Reid talked about another offensive player, running back Isiah Pacheco. After an early-season leg injury, Pacheco never regained his stride, even after he returned to play late in the year. It’s not as though that makes him unique. It’s common.

There is a difference between a return to the field and a return to productivity, and the latter almost universally requires some extra time.

That’s part of the importance of Rice being ready to go in training camp. The buildup is designed.

Here’s something telling: Even in 2024, when he didn’t even finish a fourth game, Rice still finished second on the Chiefs in first downs made from short throws. Xavier Worthy lapped the field.

The two have a contrasting build but offered a striking similarity: They found their comfort late.

The Chiefs never saw that packaged together.

They need the payoff.

Even if they didn’t have to pay free agent dollars to secure it.

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