Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice suspended six games by NFL

Blair Kerkhoff, The Kansas City Star on Aug 27, 2025

Published in Football

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The final piece of Rashee Rice’s punishment for his role in a multi-vehicle crash last year fell into place with a six-game suspension to open the 2025 season, a source confirmed to The Kansas City Star.

The NFL and NFL Players Association are working to finalize the settlement.

Rice, 25, caused a multi-vehicle car accident in Dallas in March 2024 and left the scene of the six-car pile up. He took a plea deal in which he’ll serve five years probation and 30 days in jail.

Rice had a disciplinary hearing with the NFL scheduled for Sept. 30, which would have come after the Chiefs’ fourth game. He was facing the prospect of playing for a month, then serving the suspension before resuming the season. That won’t happen. Instead, Rice’s first game will be on Oct. 19 against the Las Vegas Raiders at home.

He’ll miss six games, starting with the season opener next Friday against the Los Angeles Chargers in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Rice also will sit out home games against the Philadelphia Eagles, Baltimore Ravens and Detroit Lions and road games at the New York Giants and Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Chiefs will be without the player who broke onto the scene in 2023 as a rookie from SMU with 70 receptions for 938 yards and seven touchdowns. He also caught a touchdown pass in the playoffs as the Chiefs went on to win their third Super Bowl in five seasons.

The car crash happened after that season. The case hadn’t gone to court when the 2024 season started, so Rice played and was off to a fast start before suffering a season-ending knee injury in the fourth game.

On July 17, Rice pleaded guilty to two third-degree felony charges of collision involving serious bodily injury and racing on a highway causing bodily injury. The judge will allow Rice to find a time or times to serve the jail sentence during the probation period.

Rice also was required to pay the victims for their out-of-pocket medical expenses, which totaled about $115,000.

The NFL Network reported that the league wanted a suspension of double-digit games, and the NFLPA sought fewer games.

Rice was driving a Lamborghini Urus SUV at 119 mph when he made “multiple aggressive maneuvers around traffic” and struck other vehicles, prosecutors said. After the crash, prosecutors said Rice failed to check on the welfare of those in the other vehicles and fled on foot.

Rice, through his attorney, released a statement after the sentence:

“Last March, I was involved in a high-speed accident in Dallas. There have been a lot of sleepless nights thinking about the damages that my actions caused, and I will continue working within my means to make sure that everyone impacted will be made whole. I urge everyone to mind the speed limit, drive safe and drive smart. Last and certainly not least, I am profoundly sorry for the physical damages to person and property. I fully apologize for the harm I caused to innocent drivers and their families.”

At training camp at Missouri Western, Rice was asked about the possibility of a suspension and how he’s preparing for the season.

“I’m locked in,” Rice said. “This is what I do. This is my job. This is what I love to do. So even when I’m not able to be out there with my team, I’m gonna still be working as hard as I can so I can be back out there with them as soon as possible.”

The Chiefs kept eight wide receivers on their 53-man roster after Tuesday’s cuts. They’ll start the season with Xavier Worthy, Hollywood Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Jalen Royals, Tyquan Thornton, Jason Brownlee and Nikko Remigio at the position.