Rashee Rice is never going to be confused with Jerry Rice. So maybe it’s time for the Kansas City Chiefs to choose clarity as it pertains to their troubled wide receiver, who continues to give the team no reason to trust him.
After testing positive for THC, a violation of Rice’s probation stemming from his injurious and felonious driving behavior two years earlier, Rice has been ordered to immediately serve 30 days in jail, according to Dallas County court records reviewed by USA TODAY Sports on May 19.
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Rice is eligible to be released June 16.
Whether he’ll be released by the Chiefs remains an open question. And while smoking weed and missing voluntary offseason training and a mandatory minicamp while parked behind bars because of it might not seem like a big deal, it’s unclear whether the drug component attached to Rice’s latest misstep could trigger yet another suspension from the NFL.
“We are aware of the report and will decline further comment at this time,” a league spokesman told USA TODAY Sports.
According to ESPN, Rice will also now be forced to recuperate from a recent, if relatively minor, knee operation while in lockup − a circumstance that surely won’t facilitate his recovery.
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The Chiefs have yet to comment. But they could say plenty with some (overdue?) decisive action.
Rashee Rice shows Chiefs it’s time to cut their losses on WR
Rice served a six-game suspension last season in the aftermath of pleading guilty to two third-degree felony charges – collision involving serious bodily injury, and racing on a highway causing bodily injury – stemming from an incident on a Dallas-area highway on March 30, 2024, when several motorists were hurt and cars damaged after Rice, who was racing in a Lamborghini with friends, helped cause the pileup. He fled the scene before police arrived.
It’s probably time for the Chiefs to cut and run, too.
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Make no mistake, Rice is a good player. He’s averaged 64.2 receiving yards per game over the course of his three-year career and scored 15 regular-season touchdowns. Yet he’s not especially big (6-foot-1, 204 pounds). Or fast. Or, certainly, routinely available. Kansas City went 6-11 last year with Rice appearing in just eight games. Knee and hamstring injuries limited him to four games in 2024, and Kansas City went 15-2 and reached the Super Bowl … basically without his services.
So what is Rice really bringing to the table? Either he didn’t care enough to risk violating his probation or potentially has an even bigger problem if he couldn’t stay away from marijuana – even long enough to get his legal case dismissed, which would have happened had he had completed the probation. Is this the guy you want to trust on third-and-9 with a season or Lombardi Trophy potentially on the line? The same guy who claimed to be “profoundly sorry” for his actions (and inaction) after his fast and furious episode?
Furthermore, incidents – alleged or otherwise – seem to perpetually follow him. Rice was also named in a separate lawsuit by a woman alleging assault over an 18-month period earlier this year. The NFL ultimately determined “there was insufficient evidence to support a finding that he violated the personal conduct policy.” Yet Rice is also facing other civil cases, including one stemming from the wrecks and injuries he caused in Texas.
An injured, incarcerated and increasingly ignominious player is also entering the final year of his rookie contract. And while he’s cheap for a starting wideout – scheduled to be paid $1.6 million this season – who knows when Rice’s financial situation is going to become an altogether distinct issue for a franchise that has no business entrusting him with more money anyway. (And we’ll never know if the Chiefs would have more strongly considered a wideout like Omar Cooper Jr. or Denzel Boston late in the first round of last month’s draft had they known Rice was going to get cooked by his behavior yet again.)
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Yet a team that’s in the midst of a mini-rebuild has options.
Chiefs brass can upgrade Patrick Mahomes’ WR options without Rashee Rice
Sure, Kansas City doesn’t have a whole lot of cap flexibility – barely more than $6 million in available space, per Over The Cap. But cutting Rice would boost that figure to about $8 million. Coach Andy Reid and Brett Veach would have to free up some more cash to execute a significant move but they’ve been doing this for a minute – and it’s not like available veterans such as Stefon Diggs or Keenan Allen have exactly had robust markets this spring.
Get more cap-creative, and maybe they pursue A.J. Brown from Reid’s old friends in Philadelphia, or go after Brandon Aiyuk, whom the San Francisco 49ers will likely move for something close to a song if some team will just whistle. Heck, maybe K.C. even kicks the tires on Tyreek Hill to gauge whether he’s got any mileage in him at some point later this year.
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Sure, Brown and Aiyuk would bring baggage of their own, but not the legal variety – and Reid has certainly shown his willingness over the years to deal with such luggage if it’s also packed with a few extra wins. Diggs, who just resolved his own courtroom issues, and Allen are older players – yet also savvy, reliable ones coming off seasons when they’ve shown they can still be counted on for 80 or so catches and something in the neighborhood of 1,000 yards. Why not swap a year of further shenanigans from Rice for a one-year pact with a steady vet and then let Veach redress the position in the 2027 draft − which he was probably going to have to do anyway?
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – SEPTEMBER 22: Rashee Rice #4 and Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs walk off the field after a win over the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on September 22, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
And what about the messaging here to two-time league MVP Patrick Mahomes? He’s been rehabilitating his surgically reconstructed knee for hours upon hours every day at Chiefs headquarter for the duration of the offseason, all in a bid to try and be ready for Week 1, whether he’s truly 100% or not. As he pushes his body to its limits at a time when he’s used to convalescing from a brutal season, is he supposed to rely on a guy who can’t even put down a joint when veteran replacements are available to provide him a lot more security and trustworthiness on and off the field?
“I like to think that each year presents a new challenge and when you have Pat, there’s that mindset that you always have a chance to go out there and compete for a championship and compete for a division title,” Veach said prior to the draft last month.
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“So, it’s just a counterbalance of trying to go out there and get what Pat needs now but also keep an eye on the future so we can maintain this run.”
As Veach predicted, this year has certainly presented (another) new challenge – courtesy of Rice yet again. It’s time for an organization trying to enter the second act of a dynastic reign to deal with it appropriately.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rashee Rice’s probation violation should signal end of his Chiefs run
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