Rashee Rice To Be A ‘Virtual Participant’ In Chiefs’ Opening Workouts Following Arrest

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid announced that receiver Rashee Rice will be a virtual participant in the team’s opening offseason program. Dallas Police arrested Rice following a six-car crash he caused due to racing with another person on the highway. The team awaits a legal ruling before deciding on Rice’s long-term future in Kansas City.

“We’ll just see how it goes. I want to keep gathering any information from the law enforcement people, and we’ll just see where everything goes from there. Let the process take place,” Reid said. “Well, yeah, listen, as long as he’s learned from it, that’s the important part of it. We’ll take it from there and see what takes place. Right now, we’re just kind of gathering everything and trying to make sure we have all the bases covered.”

Rice caught 79 passes for 938 yards and seven touchdowns in his 2023 rookie campaign with the Chiefs. The 23-year-old also caught six passes for 39 yards in the team’s Super Bowl win over the San Fransisco 49ers and was second among rookies in receiving yards throughout the season. Last year, Rice was also the second-leading receiver for Kansas City, only behind tight end Travis Kelce.

With Rice potentially missing the entire season or more as he and the team await the ruling, the Chiefs have a decision to make in the upcoming draft. Reid hinted that the team is looking to take a receiver with their 32nd overall pick, but they could go the other direction if they have faith in Rice’s future. Reid also said the team is interested in finding a new left tackle, which could also come through the draft.

“I’d tell you those two positions he’s (General Manager Brett Veach) looking at, but he’s also going through everything, so we’ve got spots and depth that we can use really everywhere, and we’ll just see how the whole Rashee thing goes,” Reid said. When it’s all said and done, we should have players in there ready to go.”

To replace Rice’s role on the team, the Chiefs have eyed Texas wide receivers Xavier Worthy and Adonai Mitchell, Georgia’s Ladd McConkey and Alabama’s Kool-Aid McKinstrey as potential options in the draft. In a year when many teams are looking to take a quarterback, Kansas City is instead looking the other way, and it could land a steal with the final pick of the first round.

Behind Kelce and Rice, who led the team in receiving, were Skyy Moore, Marquez Valdez Scantling, Justin Watson, Kadarius Toney, and Noah Gray. However, none even managed half as many yards as quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ top two targets. Kansas City is set to return most of these players in 2024, but the team struggled throughout the season with dropped balls and missed routes, and the loss of Rice could prove even more fatal in that department.

Article by Eli Gregorski