The Kansas City Chiefs are 4-0, one of the two remaining undefeated teams in the NFL following Week Four. Their victories, however, have not been the dominating wins that many expected them to have as the two-time defending Super Bowl Champions. Instead, each of their victories have been decided by seven or fewer points.
This was true of the 17-10 victory on Sunday over the Los Angeles Chargers, a game that saw tight end Travis Kelce have his best game of the season, catching seven passes for 89 yards. Unfortunately, it also saw Kansas City lose one of its brightest young stars, possibly for the season.
The Kansas City Chiefs Put Wide Receiver Rashee Rice on Injured Reserve
During their win over the Chargers on Sunday, second-year wide receiver Rashee Rice suffered a devastating knee injury. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw an interception and attempted to tackle the defender returning it.
In his attempt to make the tackle, Mahomes made contact with Rice’s knee. It is believed that he tore his ACL, but there is so much swelling that the Chiefs are unable to get an accurate diagnosis right now.
However, Kansas City made the decision on Thursday to place Rice on injured reserve. He will have to miss a minimum of four games now but could miss even more time depending on the severity of the injury.
And while he is out, Rice is hoping to get some offseason matters taken care of for good.
Kansas City Chiefs Wide Receiver Rashee Rice Is Hoping to Serve Any Possible Suspension During IR Stint
As many fans are well-aware, Rice was involved in a high-speed car accident in Dallas, Texas during the offseason. He was allegedly driving 119 miles per hour and caused an accident that injured other people. What is more, he fled the scene of the accident before police and other emergency responders arrived.
A warrant was eventually issued for Rice’s arrest, and he turned himself into police four days later. He is currently being sued by the victims of the accident and has eight felony charges weighing on him.
But the NFL has not suspended him, at least not yet. According to Mike Florio, though, Rice is hoping that the NFL will hand down whatever possible suspension they are considering now that he is injured so that he can serve it while being physically unable to play:
“The goal will become, we believe (and we’re told), to resolve the eight pending felony charges and to serve any suspension this year, while he’s otherwise unable to play. Then, come 2025, the incident, and the injury, will be behind him.
“Some might call that cynical. Others would regard it as strategic. Because it is. If he’s going to miss time due to the off-field issue, why not serve the suspension while otherwise unable to play? (He’ll lose game checks, but he won’t lose on-field opportunities.)”
As Florio notes, Rice would not be paid if he was suspended. However, since he will not be physically able to play anyway, he will not miss out on more playing time than he would have had.
While this scenario does make sense from a certain point of view, one cannot help but feel that this is just another example of a high-profile athlete trying to take the easy way out of a bad situation that they caused.
Perhaps if the NFL had suspended Rice in the first place at the beginning of the season, which they probably should have, he would not be injured right now.
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