Kansas City wide receiver Rashee Rice was the best draft pick from the Chiefs class of 2023. In fact, without his outstanding rookie performance, the Chiefs wouldn’t have won Super Bowl LVII or made the playoffs. With early success over the last two games, he has a chance to remain in Kansas City beyond this season.
In their surprising 2-0 start, the Kansas City Chiefs have reminded NFL teams and fans who they are by dismantling the Denver Broncos and outlasting the Indianapolis Colts to remain undefeated at this stage of the season.
Many players have been part of the unified effort to remove the stench of the 2025 season, when the Chiefs missed the playoffs. Patrick Mahomes has defied the injury gods, Travis Kelce looks like he’s 25 on the field, and the rookies are already making plays, including undrafted free agent tackle Khalil Benson.
Yet one player, Rashee Rice, appears to be putting all the pieces back together after a turbulent two years.
During that time, he was in a car accident that resulted in him being charged with driving stupidly at high speeds on the highway. He reached a plea agreement, faced numerous civil suits, and violated his probation. As a result, he spent 30 days in a Dallas jail cell.
Oh yeah, and he had minor surgery on his knee that he injured in 2024 before going to jail, which required a day pass from prison officials to rehab that knee while incarcerated.
When he rejoined the Chiefs in training camp, everyone wondered how he would react to his latest off-season nightmare. He was humble in his media interviews at camp and found his way back as the team’s starting wide receiver to open the season.
He scored a touchdown against Denver and made big catches in the Colts’ win, signaling he was back.
But that wasn’t the most exciting part: when Jalen Royals caught his first NFL touchdown against the Colts, Rice was his biggest cheerleader. He didn’t celebrate his own success; he celebrated his teammate’s.
That told me he’s dialed in and has hopefully put distance between himself and his Dallas entourage.
Rice is in the final year of his rookie deal, and though the Chiefs and his agent have discussed an extension, Kansas City will likely wait until later in the year to see how Rice performs on and off the field.
The two sides can get something done, but it won’t be top dollar.
Still, if he puts up solid numbers this season, I could see a three-year $45 million contract within reach. Teams are going to shy away from placing him in the top echelon of the receiver pay scale.
His willingness to sign a team-friendly deal may stem from the fact that they backed and supported him through all his ups and downs. In other words, Rice always had a home with the Chiefs.
As Rice values his options, he needs to look beyond the numbers he can achieve in 2026. He needs to match the organization’s all-for-one, one-for-all directive and commit to being a better teammate to earn their loyalty.
He also must weigh the option of playing for an NFL quarterback other than Patrick Mahomes.
In my view, Rice has an opportunity to rise above the ashes of his mistakes and become the senior leader in the wide receiver room by holding himself accountable and showing the other wide receivers what hard work can do on the field and in the community.
With Chad O’Shea as his wide receivers coach and Eric Bieniemy returning as offensive coordinator, Rice has the father figure he needs in EB and the teacher he needs in O’Shea.
They, along with Head Coach Andy Reid, gave him a lot of latitude, but once Rice showed the organization he had changed, they saw the work he was putting in, and so did Mahomes. Rice was at the Chiefs facility working out, and the first man he saw when he came into the training room was his quarterback.
Rice can overcome all the ill he’s caused by leading by example as the elder statesman among his teammates.
If he can keep making plays on the field and be as excited about his fellow receivers when they score touchdowns as they do when he’s celebrating in the end zone, Rashee Rice could carve out a nice career in Kansas City.
