Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice accepted a six-game suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy, the NFL announced Wednesday afternoon.
Rice, 25, and the NFL were scheduled for a disciplinary hearing as entitled by the Collective Bargaining Agreement. But that Sept. 30 sitdown is unlikely to be necessary with Rice ineligible to play until Oct. 19 when the Chiefs host the Las Vegas Raiders, as his suspension begins immediately and he will be eligible for reinstatement on Oct. 13.
The punishment stems from Rice’s admitted role — he pleaded guilty to two third-degree felony charges — in a multicar crash in Dallas that left multiple people injured in 2024.
Prior to Wednesday’s agreement, Rice was expected to play Sept. 5 in Brazil in Kansas City’s regular-season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers, and three other games prior to his scheduled hearing: Sept. 14 vs. Philadelphia, Sept. 21 at the NY Giants and Sept. 28 vs. Baltimore.
Accepting the six-game suspension disqualifies Rice from those games, plus two more: Oct. 6 at Jacksonville and a home game against Detroit on Oct. 12.
Rice entered the plea for collision involving serious bodily injury and racing on a highway causing bodily injury, both felony charges in the state of Texas.
He was granted deferred adjudication on a 30-day jail sentence, and the case will be dismissed if he complies with the terms of his probation.
The No. 1 receiver for the Chiefs to begin the 2024 season, Rice had 24 receptions when he suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 4. As a rookie in 2023, he caught 79 passes for 938 yards and seven touchdowns.
Once Rice’s suspension is made official, he can be transferred to the Reserve/Suspended List to open a roster spot. The Chiefs might need it.
Second-year wide receiver Xavier Worthy has the role of No. 1 option at the position without Rice. But Kansas City is unsettled beyond Worthy, which became an issue while Rice was on injured reserve in 2024.
On the 2025 depth chart, Hollywood Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Nikko Remigio, Tyquan Thornton and rookie fourth-round pick Jalen Royals are the other wideouts retained during roster cuts on Tuesday. The Chiefs traded Skyy Moore to the 49ers during the preseason.
Royals had a gangbusters start to training camp. He bears some comparison in body type and style of play to Rice but has been on ice recently due to a knee issue. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid listed Royals among players unable to practice this week.
–Field Level Media
