Chiefs WR Rashee Rice to be full participant in training camp despite upcoming jail stint

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice will fully participate in the team’s training camp despite being recently sentenced to jail time. 

On Sunday, the day before players are scheduled to report, Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Rice would be a full participant in camp. Reid’s decision comes three days after Rice was sentences to 30 days in jail and five years probation for his role in a multi-car crash in 2024 in Dallas, Texas. 

“We’re going to progress as normal with him,” Reid said, according to the Associated Press. “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, 25, received his sentence as part of a plea agreement on Friday as a result of an incident where he and another speeding driver caused a chain-reaction crash that injured multiple people on a Dallas highway. According to prosecutors, Rice was driving 119 mph at the time of the crash and later fled the scene on foot. Rice pleaded guilty to two third-degree felony charges of collision involving serious bodily injury and racing on a highway causing bodily injury.

Speculation persists over how Rice’s sentencing will impact his NFL career. The league is expected to suspend him, but Reid said he has no update about Rice’s status for the upcoming season. Last week, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the league is “closely monitoring all developments in the matter which remains under review.”

According to the Associated Press, Rice will have “flexibility” for when he serves his 30-day sentence. 

Rice is entering his third NFL season. Last year, he caught 24 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns in the first three games before going down with a season-ending knee injury in Week 4. Without Rice, the Chiefs advanced to the Super Bowl but lost to the Philadelphia Eagles. 

Upon his return, Rice is expected to have a big role in Kansas City’s offense. When asked about the knee injury, Reid said last month that Rice would be “ready to go” when training camp begins.