The Kansas City Chiefs might avoid a big hit to their offense, at least for the 2024 NFL season.
Reporting on NFL Network's broadcast of Day 3 of the 2024 NFL draft, league insider Ian Rapoport provided additional context surrounding the Rashee Rice situation. The Chiefs, of course, expect that Rice will be suspended at some point for a violation of the NFL's personal conduct policy, but the timing and length of the suspension remain in question. Rapoport even suggested that Rice might not be suspended at all during the 2024 NFL season.
"As you guys laid out, the offense without Rashee Rice there, what we don't know is whether or not he'll be eligible to start the season with the Kansas City Chiefs. And really this depends on how quickly the legal process plays out. If his case is – and he’s been charged with, I believe six charges – if his case wraps up, then there is potential the NFL could issue its discipline and he would likely be suspended. If the case is still ongoing, as we’ve seen with several others, then likely he’d be eligible to play this season. Discipline would be handled the following season. So the timing is really an issue, not whether or not he’ll actually be suspended." - NFL Network's Ian Rapoport
This is consistent with what NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said on the situation surrounding Rice ahead of the 2024 NFL draft during an interview on ESPN.
“First, we allow the legal process to move through," Goodell said. "We obviously are following it closely and as soon as they are done with the process we will be engaged and be prepared to look at all of that under our personal conduct policy.”
NFL Network analyst Charles Davis asked Rapoport about the possibility of Rice landing on the Commissioner's Exempt List (see: Justyn Ross, 2023). Rapoport indicated that the league has not yet discussed the Commisisioner's Exempt List as an option for Rice.
"I have not yet heard that it is possible that he would be on the Commissioner's Exempt List," Rapoport said. "My understanding is he is still eligible (to participate in team activities). He's obviously staying home right now from offseason conditioning, doing it virtually, but that has not yet been decided or discussed, honestly."
Ultimately, Rice's fate for the 2024 NFL season might come down to how quickly the courts in the Dallas, Texas area move, specifically when handling any criminal litigation involving the Chiefs' wide receiver.
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