Receiver issues defined much of the Chiefs’ 2023 regular season, but it became clear early in the playoffs that Patrick Mahomes had focused on one player he could trust: rookie Rashee Rice.
Rice quickly went from a late second-round pick to one of the most important offensive pieces on a Super Bowl-winning team, finishing his freshman year with 938 yards and seven touchdowns in a role that only expanded as the season went on.
Then came the offseason.
Rice has been plagued by legal issues in the spring, putting his status into question for the start of the season. Will the NFL suspend him? If so, for how long?
Here’s a look at Rice’s difficult offseason and what punishment might look like.
Rashee Rice’s Offseason Schedule
Hit and run accident
Rice was involved in a hit-and-run accident in Dallas on March 30 while he was supposed to race against another driver. The incident left several people injured, but fortunately no one was killed.
Several occupants of the vehicles, including Rice, left the scene on foot. Rice first encountered Dallas police on April 3.
“I take full responsibility for my role in this matter,” Rice said in his first public comments after the crash, pledging to cooperate with the investigation.
Rice charged with eight felonies
Rice was charged with eight felonies a week after he met with police: one count of aggravated assault, one count of collision causing serious bodily injury and six counts of collision causing injury. He surrendered to police the next day and the case remains open.
Rice accused of assaulting photographer
Rice was investigated by Dallas police for an alleged assault on a photographer in May. The Chiefs receiver was accused of punching a photographer at a nightclub on May 6.
No charges filed against Rice over photographer incident
The alleged victim declined to press charges against Rice on May 21, calling the incident a “misunderstanding.” Still, the investigation added one more negative headline to an offseason that Rice and the Chiefs would like to forget.
Will Rashee Rice be suspended?
Rice could face suspension under the NFL’s personal conduct policy following the March hit-and-run crash
There have been reports that Rice will be suspended at some point, but exactly when that will happen remains a mystery. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported in April that a 2024 suspension was not guaranteed, and Chiefs coach Andy Reid said at the start of training camp that he hadn’t heard anything from the league.
As of August 13, Rice had not yet met with the NFL to discuss possible punishment, Pro Football Talk reported.
The NFL often waits for legal issues to resolve before making a decision, and Rice’s case remains open. That doesn’t mean a suspension won’t happen in 2024, but it might not be as imminent as some expected.
The Chiefs, however, prepared well for Rice’s suspension. They signed Marquise Brown in March and selected Texas sprinter Xavier Worthy in the first round in April, adding two important weapons to Mahomes’ arsenal.
Kansas City also recently signed WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, who was one of Mahomes’ top weapons in the 2022 championship game.
Rice would still be a vital part of Kansas City’s offense on the ground. He made a strong debut late in his rookie season as one of the few wide receivers Patrick Mahomes seemed to have full confidence in, and he also has a slightly different skill set than Brown and Worthy, who both have smaller frames and rely on their speed. Rice has a larger frame and hasn’t looked one-dimensional at all in 2023.
The Chiefs have Mahomes, which puts them in a strong position no matter who catches the ball, but there’s no doubt they’d like to have Rice on the field as much as possible.
