Chiefs receiver Rashee Rice spoke Saturday for the first time since his tumultuous offseason, vowing to “mature” after a spring full of off-the-field issues.
Entering his second season in the NFL, Rice currently faces charges including aggravated assault after he and another driver of a speeding sports car allegedly caused a crash involving a half-dozen vehicles on a Dallas highway in April.
The receiver also reportedly was suspected of involvement in an alleged assault at a nightclub in Dallas, but police later said that Rice will not face charges from that incident.
“I’ve learned so much from [the offseason troubles],” Rice said from a youth football camp in Kansas City alongside his fellow Chiefs wideouts, via PJ Green of Fox 4 Kansas City. “All I can do is mature and continue to grow from that. This is a step in a better direction for me.
“Accidents and stuff like that happen, but all you can do is move forward and walk around being the same person, try to be positive so that everybody can feel your love and your great energy.”
The wideout, 24, is coming off a standout rookie season. A second-round pick out of SMU, Rice racked up 79 receptions for 938 yards and seven touchdowns in his first campaign in the pros, finishing sixth in AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year voting. Already one of Patrick Mahomes’ top targets, the rookie led all Chiefs receivers in catches and yards and paced all Kansas City players in receiving TDs. During K.C.’s run to its second straight Super Bowl title, Rice added 26 receptions for 262 yards and a score.
Whether Rice will be available to Mahomes and the Chiefs for the entirety of the 2024 season remains to be seen. He is subject to the NFL’s personal conduct policy and could face potential suspension.
Amid Rice’s troubles, Kansas City has added to its receiver room. The Chiefs signed former Ravens and Cardinals wideout Marquise Brown in March, drafted first-round pick Xavier Worthy in April and re-signed Mecole Hardman, who caught the game-winning TD of Super Bowl LVIII, just last week.
Rice has taken part in voluntary organized team activities and is expected with the Chiefs for next week’s three-day mandatory minicamp, which kicks off on Tuesday.
