Rashee Rice Out For Start Of Season After NFL, Chiefs Wideout Settle On 6-Game Suspension

Rashee Rice isn't going to be playing the first month of the NFL season after all, as the Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver, the NFL and NFLPA have agreed he'll serve a six-game suspension.

And that suspension begins the first week of the regular season.

Rice will not be allowed to practice with his team or participate in football-related activities. He will obviously miss game checks. He is eligible for reinstatement on Monday, Oct. 13.

The NFL announced the move Wednesday afternoon.

Rashee Rice is suspended for the Chiefs' first six games, including Week 4 against the rival Ravens. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

A Hearing Was A Wildcard

Rice, suspended for violating the league's personal conduct policy, can play his first game on Oct. 19 against the Las Vegas Raiders.

This is a negotiated settlement, so there will be no appeal. It comes after the league set a Sept. 30 hearing date for Rice during which Sue L. Robinson, the former U.S. district judge who serves as the disciplinary officer jointly appointed by the NFL and NFL Players Association, was scheduled to hear Rice's case. 

That Sept. 30 date made some NFL sources upset because they felt Rice starting the season gave the Chiefs an advantage that was not deserved or expected.

Robinson previously presided over the Deshaun Watson matter in 2022 and the NFL was so unhappy with those results that it appealed and eventually got a longer suspension for Watson in a settlement.

So settling this matter now makes sense because the NFL originally wanted Rice's suspension to span a double-digit number of games, per a source, Rice wanted to miss no more than a month, per a source, and Robinson was going to be a wildcard for both sides.

Suspended Chiefs WR Rashee Rice won't be eligible to start his season until Oct. 19 against the Raiders. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)

Six-Game Suspension Right Number?

But the subjective question that lingers now is whether a six-game suspension is fair?

You'll recall the reason Rice is in this mess to begin with is because he did some very stupid, harmful and, yes, illegal things.

In July, the receiver was sentenced to 30 days in jail and five years' probation for his role in a multi-car crash in Dallas that left multiple people injured in 2024.

Rice, 25, pleaded guilty to two third-degree felony charges. Those are causing a collision involving serious bodily injury and racing on a highway causing bodily injury. Rice also made financial restitution to the victims.

Rice must complete his jail sentence within the allowed five-year period. 

Rashee Rice will miss the Chiefs' first six games, half of which are against teams in the AFC. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Rice Will Miss Three AFC Games

OutKick reached out to two sources on Wednesday afternoon to see if they thought the six-game suspension was the right call. Both said the number seemed fair, but what they highlighted is that the suspension begins at the start of the season instead of coming at some point in the middle, which would have allowed Rice to both start the season and help the Chiefs finish strong at the end.

A six-game suspension means Rice will miss the following games:

• Week 1 – vs. Los Angeles Chargers in Brazil
• Week 2 – vs. Philadelphia Eagles
• Week 3 – at New York Giants
• Week 4 – vs. Baltimore Ravens
• Week 5 – at Jacksonville Jaguars
• Week 6 – vs. Detroit Lions