Chiefs waive preseason standout to make room on 53-man roster for Rashee Rice as NFL commissioner officially lifts his suspension
The Kansas City Chiefs officially made room for WR Rashee Rice on the 53-man roster on Monday.
The Kansas City Chiefs have officially made a corresponding roster move to make room for WR Rashee Rice in his return from a six-game suspension.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell officially lifted the six-game suspension on Rice on Monday, also granting the team a roster exemption for the third-year wide receiver. The roster exemption signifies that the team did not need to make room on the 53-man roster until the Week 7 game against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, when he’s expected to make his 2025 NFL season debut.
The Chiefs, however, acted quickly to make room on their 53-man roster for Rice, waiving preseason standout Jason Brownlee from the 53-man roster.
The writing was on the wall for Chiefs WR Jason Brownlee
Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub tipped off that this was coming during the first week of October. Brownlee was demoted after Jalen Royals and Xavier Worthy returned to the lineup, marking him as either a special-teams-only player or a healthy scratch.
“I think when Rashee (Rice) comes back, I’m going to lose another guy,” Toub said. “And then all of a sudden, you know, everybody gets pushed (down the depth chart). So, I’m looking forward to, you know, Tyquan (Thornton). He brings a dynamic explosiveness to the return game.”
With Tyquan Thornton’s offensive snaps getting dialed back in Week 6 against the Lions, this felt like the natural move. As much as Andy Reid would love to keep eight receivers on the 53-man roster, including a big-bodied player like Brownlee who stood out in the preseason, it simply isn’t practical.
If Brownlee clears waivers, I wouldn’t be shocked to see him return to the practice squad in Kansas City. That said, there are quite a few wide receiver-needy teams in the NFC, including the San Francisco 49ers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The 49ers have already taken a liking to former Chiefs receivers this offseason, adding Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Skyy Moore, and Demarcus Robinson.
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They wasted no time.
