Chiefs’ ‘Rice Is Cookin” Hype Video Gets Roasted by Fans Ahead of Rams Preseason Opener
Kansas City Chiefs fans aren’t in a patient mood, and a training camp hype video just gave them another reason to vent. Two days before the team’s preseason opener against the Los Angeles Rams, the Chiefs’ official X account posted a short clip of Patrick Mahomes and Rashee Rice connecting on the practice field with the caption “Rice is cookin’.” The replies were not kind.
The mockery lands against a rough backdrop. Kansas City missed the playoffs last season for the first time in over a decade, finishing 6-11 after Mahomes went down with a season-ending knee injury in Week 15. The Chiefs enter 2026 needing answers on multiple fronts, and fans clearly aren’t ready to be sold on optimism just yet.
Fans Pile On After ‘Rice Is Cookin” Post
The video itself was standard training-camp content — Mahomes finding Rice on a route, nothing more dramatic than that. But the caption drew immediate pushback. According to HITC, one fan responded by asking simply, “Cookin’ who?”
Another fan, Scott, was more pointed. He posted on X: “With no defense. Comical.” —
With no defense. Comical
— Scott (@LetsGoIrish79) August 13, 2026
The jokes kept coming from there. One fan compared the clip to “cooking a cold pastrami sandwich.” Another dismissed the hype entirely, writing that the post was “hyping up Rice in the big 2026.” A separate reply argued flatly that Mahomes “is not the guy” right now, and at least one fan responded with nothing but a tortoise GIF — a jab at the pace of Kansas City’s rebuild.
None of it is official team business. It’s fans blowing off steam on a Wednesday in August, the kind of noise that follows every franchise during training camp. But the tone says something about where Chiefs Kingdom’s patience sits after a losing season.
Mahomes’ Recovery Is the Real Storyline
The bigger issue hovering over the joke is Mahomes’ health. He tore both his ACL and LCL in his left knee during a Week 15 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Dec. 14, 2025 — an injury that ended his season and eliminated Kansas City from playoff contention. He had surgery about 24 hours later.
Mahomes has been cleared to practice at training camp, which is a real step forward given the severity of the injury. But head coach Andy Reid isn’t rushing him. Reid told reporters last week there’s a “pretty good chance” Mahomes won’t play at all in the preseason, saying the “percentages are leading that way” and that he hasn’t decided whether Mahomes will suit up even for the second or third preseason game.
That would be new territory for Mahomes, who has never sat out an entire preseason in his nine-year career. For now, he says he’s preparing as if he’ll play and letting Reid make the call. His focus is squarely on Week 1 — a Sept. 14 matchup against Denver, the team that won the AFC West while Kansas City was out of the picture.
| Category | Detail |
|---|---|
| 2025 Record | 6-11, missed playoffs |
| Mahomes Injury | Torn ACL and LCL, left knee (Dec. 14, 2025) |
| Preseason Opener | vs. Los Angeles Rams, Aug. 15, Arrowhead Stadium |
| Kickoff | 3:00 p.m. CT / 4:00 p.m. ET / 9:00 p.m. BST |
What’s Next
Kansas City opens its three-game preseason slate against the Rams on Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium, with kickoff set for 3 p.m. CT. Whether Mahomes takes a single snap remains genuinely uncertain — and given how thin the Chiefs’ margin for error looked a year ago, every rep between now and Sept. 14 is going to be watched closely, jokes and all.
