With a turbulent offseason, Kansas City Chiefs Wide receiver Rashee Rice has been a big-time performer on the practice field. Despite the off-the-field issues, he came into training camp in great physical shape and with a sharpened sense of becoming the best player for his teammates.
Kansas City Chiefs Receiver Rashee Rice spoke to the media on Tuesday. He knew what was coming from a press pool that could not resist asking him about his off-the-field issues that made national headlines. Like a true politician, he attempted to talk about his play and his teammates, but instead, despite multiple questions, he was steadfast in saying that his legal team was handling everything.
To date, the NFL has not ruled on a possible suspension for the Chiefs’ second-year receiver. Neither his criminal nor his civil cases have been heard, and they might not be until 2025. If that’s the case, Rice will likely play a full season with the Chiefs.
That’s good news if you’re a Chiefs fan, but it’s better news for Rice and his offensive teammates. Though Rice kept his comments generic, talking about his teammates and the speed at receiver, he did make mention of his quarterback, Patrick Mahomes.
“He’s been very important. He’s there for me whenever I need him on or off the field. He’s only a call away, and he’s always going to pick up my call,” Rice said of Mahomes.
It’s good having the best player in the NFL to lean on, but the key to Rice taking the next step and putting this behind him isn’t just the legal process but the cast around him.
Rice stated to the local press, “I am just continuing to surround myself with people I want to be like and with people who allow me to grow.”
As a young athlete, the most challenging part about finding early success, in this case in the NFL, is the people who grew up with Rice, who make up his direct entourage, who sometimes lead people down the wrong path.
I’m not defending Rice for what he did, and he will pay the price at some point, but learning from your mistakes and eliminating bad influencers within his inner circle, which he has done, tells me that the off-season training allowed him to shrink the distractions closest to him.
To date, Rice has been exceptional in training camp. Further, Rice has extended the field for Mahomes because of his rookie season success and the end speed that Xavier Worthy and Hollywood Brown bring to the offense.
Last season, Rice was asked to duplicate the role of JuJu Smith-Schuster player in 2022. It took Rice about half a season to adjust from an early case of the drops, but he settled into that role quite nicely. Had Rice not taken the next step, I doubt the Chiefs would be back-to-back Super Bowl Champions.
Now, he’s part of a track team that intends to take the NFL by storm.
“We’re electric. We’re looking forward to putting on a show. We’re ready to go out there and have fun with each other. We got football speed and real speed, but we all got speed,” he said.
One thing is evident: Rice has talent. Despite the cloud over his head away from football, he enters this season with a deep determination to be the best person off the field and deliver for his teammates.
That’s all the Chiefs can ask of him, but it doesn’t hurt that his quarterback has his back if he gets sidetracked on the road to redemption.
