Alleged assault victim asks police not to file charges against Chiefs' Rashee Rice

Rashee Rice‘s chances of being available for the Chiefs’ full threepeat bid may be bleak, as three separate incidents are factoring into a potential suspension — one the team expects. The most recent of these events is no longer expected to produce a charge, however.

The Kansas City wide receiver was facing an allegation of punching a photographer in the face at a Dallas nightclub earlier this month, but the reported victim is not preparing to press charges. “The reporting party has signed an affidavit of non-prosecution,” per the Dallas Police Department, via ESPN.com’s Adam Teicher. The photographer called the incident a misunderstanding, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero adds.

As Roger Goodell-era NFL fans know well by now, players can still be punished by the league regardless of charges emerging. And Rice still has the matter of the March hit-and-run incident to navigate. The 2023 second-rounder’s biggest offseason hurdle remains the eight felony charges from the car crash. Rice, 24, was believed to be street racing; he was traveling at 119 mph and fled the scene following the crash.

An incident in which Rice or a member of his party fired gunshots into an empty car belonging to an SMU basketball player, occurring while Rice was still at the Dallas-area school, is also set to factor into an NFL investigation. The incident involving the photographer may end up the lowest-profile matter in a league probe.

The Chiefs have welcomed Rice back. After participating virtually in the first phase of the Chiefs’ offseason program, Rice is working with the team at OTAs. The Chiefs have navigated extensive off-field troubles involving high-profile players in recent years, and suspensions did come down for the likes of Frank Clark, Charles Omenihu and Kareem Hunt. The latter was with the Browns when he served an eight-game ban. Omenihu served a six-game suspension for a domestic violence arrest, and Clark was banned for two games for a gun issue.

Andy Reid‘s team navigated the D-line suspensions en route to Super Bowl titles. Unless the Rice investigation drags into 2025, the two-time reigning champions should be expected to play a chunk of the season without their leading wide receiver from 2023.