The Kansas City Chiefs are attempting to pull off an almost impossible feat by winning three Super Bowls in a row.
Heading into a season with so much on the line, the organization would ideally like to avoid as many distractions as possible heading into 2024, but the opposite has been true.
The Chiefs have dominated headlines this offseason —but the storylines haven’t been about football — and there seems to be one controversy after the next with the Super Bowl champs.
For the last two months, Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice has been in the news and his availability in 2024 is a major question mark as of now.
Rice was a second-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft and his rookie season ended with a Super Bowl victory. He was a key part of the effort as he broke the NFL postseason rookie receptions record with 26 catches. However, his football accomplishments are currently being overshadowed by off-field issues. He is facing multiple felony charges due to a multi-vehicle crash that happened in Dallas in March. He was also under investigation for allegedly assaulting a photographer in May, but no charges were ultimately filed.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes said everyone associated with the team is doing what they can to help Rice avoid future off-field mistakes.
“It’s not just me. [We’re all] just trying to do whatever we can to teach him how to learn from his mistakes,” Mahomes said Wednesday, via video from the team. “Obviously, that was a big mistake. You get to learn from it and make sure it doesn’t happen again and try to do whatever you can to be the best person you can be in society, not only for yourself but for the people around you. I think he is doing that.”
The franchise QB made it clear the entire Kansas City Chiefs organization is trying to set Rice up for the best possible future, regardless of the pending legal situation.
“Right now, we’re just going to keep trying to do whatever we can to get him on the right path, so that he can be a great football player, obviously, but we want to be a great person, too.”
Kansas City Chiefs WR Rashee Rice Could Miss Bulk Of 2024 Season According To Recent Rumor
If the Chiefs are going to bring home a third-straight Lombardi Trophy, they will need all of their playmakers active and contributing at a high level all season.
With Rice’s status in question for 2024, the Chiefs signed Hollywood Brown and drafted Texas speedster Xavier Worthy to give Mahomes other options, but the best case scenario is to have all three wideouts on the field at the same time.
According to a rumor shared by the NFL Notifications on X/Twitter, the Kansas City Chiefs may not have Rice available for much of the 2024 campaign, as he could miss 12 games.
𝗥𝗨𝗠𝗢𝗥 𝗔𝗟𝗘𝗥𝗧:
The initial rumblings around the league are that #Chiefs WR Rashee Rice could be looking at a 12 game suspension for his role in the accident he caused earlier this offseason. pic.twitter.com/mzepUbQ5sR
— NFL Notifications (@NFLNotify) July 5, 2024
“The initial rumblings around the league are that #Chiefs WR Rashee Rice could be looking at a 12 game suspension for his role in the accident he caused earlier this offseason,” a tweet from said account reads
If that were to happen, Rashee Rice would only be available for five games next season, and the Chiefs could be worse off for it.
As of now, this is all speculation as the legal process continues to play out, but it’s safe to say the Kansas City Chiefs are prepping for all outcomes.
