The Kansas City Chiefs open training camp next month, and they’ll have Rashee Rice back on the practice field. After a 30-day stint in jail, including outpatient rehab at a local facility, he’s headed back to KC and has a chance to make a statement about his NFL future.
First, let’s hope that sleeping in a cell for thirty days did the trick for Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice. His long history of off-field mistakes has been public and has forced the organization to reassess its view of the man, who is a key cog in the offense.
The Chiefs don’t have another wide receiver with Rice’s talent, and with new Wide Receiver Coach Chad O’Shea in charge, Rice has a chance to put his head down and use the resources available to him under a very forgiving coaching staff.
O’Shea has no history with Rice, and because of his incarceration, he missed the final OTA and Mini-Camp sessions, so he’s behind the eight-ball in that regard. The good news for Rice is his familiarity with Patrick Mahomes.
With the summer break in full swing, Rice should spend that time in Kansas City working with trainers, and the last thing he should do is return to Dallas. He needs to cut off his entourage and focus on rehabbing both his knee and his image.
Rice is in the final year of his rookie deal, and he’s significantly limited his chances of a massive contract extension. If he’s lucky and gets his act together on and off the playing surface, he might get a deal that matches that of Carolina Panthers wide receiver Jalen Coker, who received a three-year extension worth up to $41 million.
Because of his antics and immaturity, he’s put his career in a constant prove-it mode, and NFL teams will be very bullish on signing him to a massive contract. It’s probable the Chiefs hope to retain Rice, and since they don’t have a receiver with his specific skills, it would make sense if he’s available in the opener and can play as he did in his rookie season. Perhaps the two sides can come together on a new deal.
Now, there will be many hands making that decision, but the onus falls on Rice, who has reached the ultimate fork in the road in Kansas City. The Fan Base is forgiving, the coaching staff will give him every chance to return to his old form, and if he makes big plays on offense, he can turn the narrative.
It’ll never be enough to secure an elite payday, but Rice, who has several civil suits that remain unpaid, should be grateful for whatever deal he might get to extend his stay in Kansas City.
Before the Chiefs traded Tyreek Hill and after the NFL concluded that he did nothing wrong in his altercation with the mother of three of his children, the team gave him a three-year, $54 million deal in 2019, with $35.5 million in guarantees.
Rice should be ecstatic if he gets an offer that close. If he’s wise, he should sign it immediately.
Still, we don’t know whether Rice can be trusted or stay out of trouble. As patient as the Chiefs have been with him, they’ll view the next couple of months, leading into the opener against Denver in September, as Rice’s final chance.
Should anything else come up, it’s likely he’ll be cut before the Chiefs put him back on the field.
As an optimist and a believer in giving people multiple chances to find their way back from turmoil and bad decisions, I hope Rice’s recent jail time had its intended effect and that he comes out with a new attitude and fire in his belly to make amends with his teammates and the coaching staff.
