With wide receiver Rashee Rice apparently facing a suspension that will keep him out of the field for a portion of the 2024 season, the Kansas City Chiefs will likely have to give adding another pass-catcher even more priority as the 2024 NFL Draft draws closer.
On March 30, Rice was driving a Lamborghini Urus and involved in street racing with a Corvette in Dallas on a Saturday afternoon. Both drivers lost control of their vehicles, resulting in a multi-car crash that sent two people to the hospital and injured several others.
Rice later got in touch with authorities and surrendered himself up after leaving the site and not speaking to them for around 48 hours. He accepted full responsibility for the collision and is currently being prosecuted on eight counts, one of which is aggravated assault, one of which is collision causing serious bodily injury, and six of which are collision involving injury.
A multi-million dollar lawsuit against the Chiefs’ second-year receiver is also pending; the crash victims are requesting at least $10 million in punitive damages. Although the NFL will not act until the legal process is over, Rice will face harsh punishment.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that Rice will likely face disciplinary action from the NFL, with a multi-game suspension anticipated as a minimum.
The NFL does appear to see this as a chance to send a message to its players, even though the NFL Players Association will challenge any punishment imposed by the league. Rice’s incident occurred a little more than a year after Jalen Carter, a defensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles who was a member of the Georgia Bulldogs at the time, was charged with street racing, which may have contributed to the deaths of a staff member in the other car and a teammate of the Bulldogs.
All of this occurred when wide receiver Henry Ruggs of the Las Vegas Raiders entered a plea of guilty to the 2021 high-speed crash in which he struck a car on city streets while traveling at speeds of up to 156 mph. The crash claimed the lives of Tina Tintor, 23, and her dog.
Although Rice’s collision did not result in any fatalities, it was the most recent instance of an NFL player driving carelessly and putting the lives of others around him in peril. Consequently, the league may use him as an example to convey a message to players going forward.
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