Chiefs' Rashee Rice to participate in training camp despite jail sentence

Winnipeg Free Press

7 days ago

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — Rashee Rice will be a full participant in training camp, Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Sunday, three days after the standout wide receiver was sentenced to 30 days in jail after authorities said he and another speeding driver caused a chain-reaction crash that left multiple people injured on a Dallas highway last year.
Whether he will be able to fully participate in the regular season remains to be seen.
Reid said on the eve of camp beginning that he has not been told by the NFL whether Rice will serve a suspension, though it is widely expected. NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy acknowledged last week 'we have been closely monitoring all developments in the matter which remains under review.'
'We're going to progress as normal with him,' Reid said on the campus of Missouri Western State University. 'He'll go in and take all the reps that he'll normally take. We always rotate that position. Depending on what happens here with the future — whoever needs to play will step in and know what they are doing and be in good shape to do it.'
Rice pleaded guilty to two third-degree felony charges of collision involving serious bodily injury and racing on a highway causing bodily injury in the March 30, 2024, crash. As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors said, Rice was sentenced to five years of deferred probation and 30 days in jail as a condition of his probation.
The Dallas County District Attorney's Office said that the 25-year-old Rice, who will have some flexibility in when he must serve the jail time, also was required to pay the victims for their out-of-pocket medical expenses, which totaled about $115,000.
Rice was driving a Lamborghini Urus SUV at 119 mph (191 kph) when he made 'multiple aggressive maneuvers around traffic' and struck other vehicles, prosecutors said. After the crash on North Central Expressway, prosecutors said, Rice failed to check on the welfare of those in the other vehicles and fled on foot.
Rice said in a statement issued by his attorney that he's had 'a lot of sleepless nights thinking about the damages my actions caused, and I will continue working within my means to make sure that everyone impacted will be made whole.'
Rice got off to a flying start to his second NFL season last year, catching 24 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns in his first three games. But in Week 4, after Patrick Mahomes had thrown an interception, the quarterback accidentally dived into Rice's leg as they were trying to make the tackle, tearing the lateral collateral ligament in his knee.
Rice wound up missing the rest of the season, which culminated in a loss to Philadelphia in the Super Bowl.
After spending the season rehabbing the injury, Rice was able to participate in the Chiefs' offseason program, and Reid said he would not be limited by the injury in training camp. That begins with testing and meetings on Tuesday, followed by the first full-squad workout on Wednesday, when temperatures are expected to hit triple digits.
'We'll keep an eye on that,' Reid said of Rice's knee injury. 'As far as pulling back because of suspensions or whatever, you know, we're going forward. And then we'll monitor him as far as (the injury) goes.'
In other news, Reid said that cornerback Kristian Fulton and right tackle Jawaan Taylor — who are dealing with their own knee injuries — would begin the season alongside tight end Tre Watson on the physically unable-to-perform list.
Fulton signed a two-year, $20 million contract to solidify the secondary while Taylor is expected to start at right tackle.
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Reid also said first-round pick Josh Simmons, who is coming off a torn patellar tendon at Ohio State, would not be limited at the start of training camp. The Chiefs hope that Simmons is able to prove he can handle the job at left tackle, where a rotating cast of characters was unable to protect Mahomes' blind side last season.
With Taylor on the PUP list, the Chiefs will start with Simmons at left tackle and Jaylon Moore — who signed a two-year, $30 million deal in free agency — at right tackle. But it's possible that Moore could push Simmons for the starting job on the left side during training camp in what could be the biggest position battle for the defending AFC champions.
'We evaluate these guys every day,' Reid said. 'Whether it's a light practice or a hard day, they're evaluated, and graded, and so on. We'll see how it all sorts out.'
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