Matt Nagy confirms Chiefs already prepared for Rashee Rice fallout

Rashee Rice's official suspension has not yet been handed down, but it's old news that the National Football League will punish the Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver in some way. That's why offensive coordinator Matt Nagy and the rest of the staff already had a plan in place no matter what happened.

Specifically, the Chiefs had to prepare for life without Rice at some juncture. One instance had them beginning the year without Rice's presence in the offense, mostly the slot, which would change how the active roster would come together out of training camp. Another instance would be a midseason suspension that would force them to deal with uncertainty on the fly.

As it stands, the latter looks like the conclusion after a hearing was scheduled for a neutral third party to arbitrate the length of Rice's suspension. The hearing isn't happening until September 30, which means Rice should be eligible to play in the Chiefs' first four games to start the year.

The Chiefs offensive coordinator spoke about the way the team had to approach Rashee Rice's looming suspension.

Nagy spoke to the media on Tuesday about Rice's situation, and he spoke about having to be ready for anything the NFL threw at them.

"One of the things that we try to do as a staff was prepare both ways for it, just not knowing, so we had a plan for if he is there and if he's not there. And so it kind of made it easier. That's not something that we just did here recently. We've thought it through."

While Nagy wasn't going to give away any inside information about the specifics of the plan, he did call it a "solid" one and praised his coaches for the way they've handled things all around.

"There is a little bit of juggling in training camp, not only just with that, but also [with] his health, making sure that you balance both of those together. Coach [Connor] Embree has done a great job of doing that, and I think we have a solid plan in place," said Nagy.

Rice was sentenced in July for his role in causing a multi-vehicle accident while driving recklessly on a Dallas highway. He received 30 days in jail to be served over a five-year probationary period. The league reportedly sought a lengthy suspension of 10+ games, and Rice was able to appeal that and have a third-party arbitrator settle the matter.

Rice, who was injured in Week 4 last season for the rest of the year, had 24 catches for 288 yards and 2 touchdowns last season.