Sophia
A suspension for wide receiver Rashee Rice had been hanging over the Kansas City Chiefs like an anvil. It was eventually going to fall, but for a moment, it was unclear when it would come down and how long the ban would ultimately be. Now, we have a clearer picture of the situation, and for both the Chiefs and fantasy football owners, it might just be the best possible outcome from a challenging scenario.
As reported by CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones, Rice has accepted and will serve a six-game suspension to start the 2025 season. This ban comes after violating the league’s personal conduct policy for his involvement in a hit-and-run crash in March 2024. NFL Media added that the league was initially looking for a double-digit game suspension for Rice, but the receiver’s representatives successfully negotiated that down to six games. Rice will be eligible to return to the practice field after Kansas City’s Week 6 matchup against the Detroit Lions and can make his season debut against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Games Rashee Rice Will Miss
Here’s a look at the full slate of games Rice is set to miss:
- Week 1: vs. Los Angeles Chargers (in Sao Paulo, Brazil)
- Week 2: vs. Philadelphia Eagles
- Week 3: at New York Giants
- Week 4: vs. Baltimore Ravens
- Week 5: at Jacksonville Jaguars
- Week 6: vs. Detroit Lions
Of course, not having a central piece to your offense available for nearly the first two months of the regular season is less than ideal for Kansas City. However, this early suspension is actually the best outcome of a bad situation, not only for the Chiefs but for Fantasy football owners alike. Let’s explore why.
Why This Is a Positive for the Chiefs
Serving the suspension out of the gate allows Rice to hit the ground running when he does return. Before this news, there was the possibility of Rice beginning the year with the Chiefs until his previously scheduled disciplinary hearing with the NFL on September 30. That scenario would have allowed him to play over the first month but exposed him to possibly serving the suspension in the middle of the year.
That would have been suboptimal for the Kansas City offense, which would have been dealing with the speed bumps of having Rice to start the year, treading water without him, and then reintegrating him back into the flow upon his return. It’s simply too clunky.
Moreover, taking the suspension now also benefits the Chiefs from a scheduling perspective. Kansas City’s biggest games over the course of Rice’s suspension are as follows:
- Week 2: vs. Eagles
- Week 4: vs. Ravens
- Week 6: vs. Lions
All of those games are at Arrowhead Stadium, and two are against NFC opponents. Certainly, Kansas City would prefer to have Rice against Baltimore, as that could have seeding ramifications in the AFC playoff picture, but he will be available to them later in the season when they travel to Buffalo to face the Bills in Week 9. On top of that, Rice will miss just one game against a division rival (Week 1 vs. Chargers). Outside of that, Rice will be back from his suspension in time for the other five matchups against the AFC West, including both contests with the Denver Broncos (arguably their biggest challenger).
Again, we shouldn’t belittle a six-game suspension, especially considering how lethal Rice has been within the Chiefs offense. For instance, Rice played in four games last year before going down with a season-ending LCL and hamstring injury. In the three healthy games Rice logged, he registered 24 catches for 288 yards and two touchdowns. That’s a small sample size, but if you were to project that out over the course of a full 17-game season, Rice would have been looking at a sensational 136-catch year to go with roughly 1,600 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Again, a small sample size, but it’s not a flash in the pan either. Rice caught 79 balls for 938 yards and seven touchdowns as a second-round rookie out of SMU in 2023. During the team’s playoff run that culminated in a Super Bowl LVIII victory, Rice added 26 receptions for 262 yards and one touchdown over four games. Those numbers also indicate a 100-catch and 1,000-yard pace. This is a major weapon that will eventually be reinserted into the Patrick Mahomes-led offense.
How This Impacts Fantasy Football
There are a few layers here to dissect from a Fantasy standpoint. First off, let’s look at Rice’s ADP. In PPR leagues, he’s currently hovering around the 80th pick. Rice has a high of coming off the board 56th overall and a low of being the 113th pick. For reference, his current ADP has him going after the likes of Deebo Samuel and Jerry Jeudy, and before receivers like Jakobi Meyers and Jaylen Waddle. Of those receivers mentioned, Rice has more league-winning upside even at his current price and, depending on how I’ve constructed my roster before this range, I’d still take the flier.
That said, with the news of this suspension becoming official, his ADP should drop some, but owners who are willing to be patient could have an ace in their back pocket from Week 7 on. Because Rice is taking the suspension to begin the year, it will give owners who draft him some more flexibility to fill out their rosters in his absence. Bye weeks won’t become a factor until Week 5, meaning owners will have four uninterrupted weeks at the receiver position to find fillers. While Week 5 has four teams on the bye (Falcons, Bears, Packers, and Steelers), there are only two teams (Vikings and Texans) on the bye in Week 6.
Keeping our eyes on the schedule, Rice also now has a clear path during the Fantasy playoffs (Week 14 through Week 17). Over that stretch, three of Kansas City’s four games will be at home, with the lone road contest coming in Week 16 when the club travels down to Tennessee to face the Titans.
| Week | Opponent | Points allowed to WRs in 2024 (Rank) |
|---|---|---|
| Week 14 | vs. Houston Texans | 20.84 (19th) |
| Week 15 | vs. Los Angeles Chargers | 21.56 (24th) |
| Week 16 | at Tennessee Titans | 17.06 (1st) |
| Week 17 | vs. Denver Broncos | 18.78 (7th) |
The championship slate is a bit of a slog for Rice if those teams keep up their pace from a year ago, but that opening round of the playoffs certainly sets him up for success. Overall, spending some capital on Rashee Rice and holding down the fort until he returns in Week 7 could prove to be a move that catapults Fantasy managers to the playoffs and beyond.
