Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice is expected to be suspended at some point during the 2025 season, and a new report says the ban could now come at the start of the year.
The NFL is looking to suspend Rice for at least six games for violating the league’s personal conduct policy, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
If Rice and the NFL Players Association were to agree to the suspension, it would begin in Week 1.
NFL is aiming for at least a potential six-game suspension for Chiefs WR Rashee Rice for violating the league’s personal conduct policy, sources tell ESPN. The suspension would kick in at the start of this season. pic.twitter.com/3Z2ktXsVds
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 27, 2025
The NFL previously proposed a suspension of at least 10 games, and Rice’s side turned that down. Rice is scheduled to have a disciplinary hearing with the league on Sept. 30, but the two sides can still agree to a suspension prior to that date.
Rice and the Chiefs may decide that a suspension is inevitable and they would prefer to have the star receiver sit out the first six games of the year rather than miss a more crucial stretch later in the season. The NFL would also rather reach an agreement with Rice’s side and not have to go through with the disciplinary hearing.
Rice was sentenced last month to five years of probation and 30 days of jail time for his role in causing a 2024 car crash. In addition to the crash, Rice was accused in May 2024 of hitting a photographer outside a nightclub in Dallas. The photographer told police that he had left the club when Rice sent the alleged victim a message indicating Rice wanted to hire the man. When the photographer got back to the club, he says Rice handed him a phone to look at something and that Rice then punched the man in the left side of the face.
Rice, 25, established himself as Kansas City’s top wide receiver during his rookie season two years ago. He had 79 catches for 938 yards and 7 touchdowns that season. Rice had 24 catches for 288 yards and 2 touchdowns in four games last season. He was limited by knee and hamstring injuries.