Rashee Rice, Trent McDuffie among cavalcade of Chiefs players out for Titans duel

The Kansas City Chiefs will be severely shorthanded in their Week 16 game against the Tennessee Titans. Fans are already aware of Patrick Mahomes’ absence due to a torn ACL, but the star quarterback will be joined on the sidelines by Rashee Rice and Trent McDuffie, among many others.

The Chiefs ruled nine players out for Week 16 on Friday, including Rice and McDuffie. Leo Chenal, Jaylon Moore, Tyquan Thornton, Jawaan Taylor, Derrick Nnadi, Nazeeh Johnson and Jake Briningstool will all also be inactive, the team announced on social media.

Trent McDuffie, Leo Chenal, Jaylon Moore, Rashee Rice, Jawaan Taylor, Tyquan Thornton, Jake Briningstool, Nazeeh Johnson, and Derrick Nnadi are out for Sunday's game agains the Titans.

— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) December 19, 2025

The only good news is defensive tackle Chris Jones’ removal from the injury report, suggesting he will play on Sunday.

Rice and Thornton’s absences leave backup quarterback Gardner Minshew II with significantly limited options in an already diminished passing attack. Kansas City will rely on JuJu Smith-Schuster to supplement Travis Kelce, Hollywood Brown and Xavier Worthy, with rookies Nikko Remigio and Jalen Royals potentially seeing more snaps.

The Chiefs will also be down to their fourth-string left tackle with Moore out. Moore was already starting in place of Josh Simmons and Wanya Morris, who have both landed on injured reserve. Undrafted rookie Esa Pole is currently listed as the de facto starter.

As limited as Kansas City’s offense is, its defense is in an equally precarious position. The Chiefs have veteran Jerry Tillery in line to replace Nnadi, but they do not have any quality backup plans for McDuffie or Chenal.

Rookie Nohl Williams will likely step up in McDuffie’s stead, with Jack Cochrane and Jeffrey Bassa filling the void Chenal leaves at linebacker. McDuffie and Chenal are the team’s fourth and sixth-leading tacklers, respectively, with the former also serving as the Chiefs’ top cornerback.

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