Rashee Rice Suspension Now Likely To Come Mid-Season
By Jared Smola |
Updated on Thu, Aug 14 2025 3:52 PM UTC
Chiefs WR Rashee Rice is expected to have his disciplinary hearing with the NFL on September 30, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports. That means Rice will likely be eligible to play the first four weeks of the season against the Chargers, Eagles, Giants, and Ravens. The Chiefs' Week 5 game is in Jacksonville on Monday, October 6.
2025 Fantasy Football Impact
We're not sure why the NFL is waiting this long to decide on Rice's fate. But this news probably doesn't impact the odds of Rice getting suspended or the length of that suspension.
It does impact when that suspension is likely to come. And it actually hurts Rice's fantasy value a bit. A suspension sometime between Week 5 and the end of the season means fantasy teams will also be dealing with bye weeks. That'll make it a little harder to replace Rice in fantasy lineups than if he was suspended to start the season, when there are no byes until Week 5.
We'd also rather have a guy who's coming off a significant knee injury sit out the first few games of the season.
We're not moving Rice in the WR rankings, but keep this in mind when deciding whether to draft him -- and how to build around him if you do.