Chiefs star WR Rashee Rice to serve six-game suspension to start 2025 NFL season

Kansas City Chiefs wideout Rashee Rice will miss the opening stretch of the season after accepting a six-game ban for breaching the NFL’s personal conduct policy. The suspension kicks in right from Week 1, ruling him out until mid-October.

Rice will be cleared to rejoin the lineup in Week 7, just in time for Kansas City’s October 19 clash with divisional rivals, the Las Vegas Raiders. The wide receiver had originally been slated for a disciplinary hearing on September 30, but the matter has now been settled with the suspension confirmed.

The ban sidelines Rashee Rice for a string of marquee matchups, beginning with next week’s season opener against the Chargers in Brazil.

Just six weeks ago, Rice pleaded guilty to two third-degree felony charges—one for a highway racing incident that caused injuries and another for a collision resulting in serious harm. The case stemmed from a March 2024 crash in Dallas, and under a plea deal, he was handed five years of deferred probation along with 30 days in jail as a condition of that probation.

After conducting its own review, the NFL issued the suspension, which Rice has chosen not to contest. That decision effectively cancels a September 30 disciplinary hearing that had been set before former federal judge Sue L. Robinson at league headquarters in New York.

In addition to the opener, Rice will sit out some blockbuster fixtures, including a Super Bowl rematch with the Eagles on September 14 at Arrowhead, a primetime trip to New York to face the Giants, a heavyweight showdown against Lamar Jackson and the Ravens on September 28, a Monday night clash with the Jaguars, and a Sunday night battle with the Lions.

After bursting onto the scene as a rookie, Rashee Rice looked set to raise the bar even higher last fall, reeling in 24 catches for 288 yards and a pair of touchdowns in just his first three outings. But disaster struck in Week 4—when Patrick Mahomes, scrambling to make up for an interception, inadvertently crashed into Rice’s leg while trying to make a tackle. The collision tore the lateral collateral ligament in Rice's knee, cutting his season short.

That injury not only sidelined him for the remainder of the campaign but also forced him to watch from the sidelines as Kansas City fell to Philadelphia in the Super Bowl.

Rice dedicated his offseason to grinding through rehab, and by the time the Chiefs’ offseason program rolled around, he was back in shape and eager to go. Yet, with the suspension now in effect, he won’t be allowed back inside the team facility until midway through next month, putting his comeback momentum on ice for the time being.