KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - It still remains to be seen how long -- and at what point -- Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice will be suspended.
On Friday, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero revealed new details behind the scenes of the process, sharing that the NFL initially proposed a “lengthy suspension that would sideline (Rice) for over half the season.”
Rice pled guilty to two felonies in July for his role in an April 2024 crash on a Dallas freeway. In that crash, Rice caused a chain-link reaction after driving a Lamborghini through Dallas at speeds that exceeded 115 miles per hour.
“My understanding is that the NFL initially proposed a lengthy suspension, double-digit games for Rashee Rice,” Pelissero reported on NFL Network on Friday. “The Players’ Union and Rashee Rice’s attorney and agents argued for a much shorter suspension in part because there is no precedent for suspending someone for over half the season in a case like this.”
READ MORE: What NFL history says about a potential suspension for Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice
On Thursday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the NFL had set a Sept. 30 hearing for Rice at the league’s headquarters in New York City with former federal judge Sue L. Robinson.
Only one hearing has been held by Robinson in relation to an NFL suspension, and that was for Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, who received and then appealed a suspension in a civil case for sexual misconduct.
Pelissero said if the meeting and any subsequent appeal happens in September and into October, that could delay a suspension into the postseason. However, Pelissero said the NFL and NFLPA, along with Rashee Rice’s camp could come together and agree on a settlement ahead of the Sept. 30 date to allow his suspension to begin earlier in the season.
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