The Kansas City Chiefs knew they'd likely be without top wide receiver Rashee Rice for a good chunk of the 2025 season, so Wednesday's news shouldn't have come as a shock to them.
Rice's looming suspension for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy has been looming over the Chiefs for months now, which likely prompted them to re-sign Marquise Brown and Juju Smith-Schuster, and draft Jalen Royals in anticipation of having an extended run without their top pass-catcher.
According to multiple reports, the NFL officially suspended Rice for the first six games of the season, which some might consider a win given the league was originally pushing for 10 games just last month.
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"Chiefs WR Rashee Rice has accepted a six-game suspension that will start in Week 1, per source," The Athletic's Dianna Russinni reported. "Rice will be eligible to return Oct. 19 against the Raiders."
While having the when and how long finally answered, that doesn't change the fact that Kansas City's offense will be less than full-strength at arguably the most critical part of the team's schedule.
The Chiefs open the season Sept. 5 against the division rival Los Angeles Chargers, and they follow that up with a Super Bowl LIX rematch against the Philadelphia Eagles the very next week.
KC then has home matchups against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 4 and Detroit Lions in Week 6. The Ravens were the No. 3 seed in the AFC last season and the Lions were the NFC's top seed.
The only other worrisome stretch of games the Chiefs have on their schedule is the back-to-back Week 8 and 9 matchups against the Washington Commanders, who made it to the NFC Championship Game last year, and the Buffalo Bills, who the Chiefs beat in the AFC Championship Game.
The good news is with tight end Travis Kelce back for his 13th season—he led the team in receptions (97), targets (133), and receiving yards (823) in 2024—plus Xavier Worthy, a healthy Brown, and Royals now in the mix, the Chiefs may be built to handle Rice's absence better than they were last year when he missed 13 games after suffering a torn LCL.
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