With each passing day, the saga of Kansas City Chiefs wideout Rashee Rice seemingly gets worse and worse.
Rice is already facing a slew of felony charges stemming from a high-speed car crash in late March. He then was accused, but not charged, of assaulting a person at a downtown Dallas nightclub.
But wait, there’s more.
Rice now has a previous incident during his time at Southern Methodist University (SMU) involving a gun cropping up in media reports. Not to mention, an old scouting report which labeled him a “scout’s nightmare” and talented, but “not a good dude.”
All of this information paints this young man, who was poised to become an even more vital cog for the 2024 Super Bowl champions, in a grim light.
RELATED: Chiefs Star Rookie Rashee Rice Gets Hit With More Legal Troubles
Mahomes Wanted Rice: Report
The Chiefs took Rashee Rice with their second-round pick (55) in 2023. They traded up with the Minnesota Vikings and the Detroit Lions to snag him.
Press reports at the time show the team was heavily focused on the skills he could bring to the offense. However, Sports Illustrated notes that they used something other than scouting reports to commit to taking the SMU star.
In fact, they reveal that quarterback Patrick Mahomes personally took a liking to him.
Per Bleacher Report’s Adam Lefkoe during 2023 draft day analysis: “Pat worked out with this guy, threw with him out in Dallas and he said, ‘I want this guy,’ and you get him. He’s going to play very early on. Rashee Rice, the new weapon for Pat.”
Mahomes knew Rashee Rice was his guy after throwing with him in Dallas.@AdamLefkoe with the scoop 🔥 pic.twitter.com/X8ZAab22kM
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) April 29, 2023
RELATED: Kansas City Chiefs Preparing For Lengthy Suspension For Star Rookie Rashee Rice: Report
Rashee Rice And Sprayed Bullets
Perhaps the Chiefs should have looked a little more in-depth into Rashee Rice’s background. Or used scouting reports, rather than going with gut instinct after their QB tossed a few balls to him on a field in Dallas.
With everything else going on, Pro Football Talk has now revealed that there was a previous incident involving Rice during his time at SMU. And it seems pretty serious.
Rice believed former SMU basketball player Kendric Davis was seeing Rice’s girlfriend. Rice and some of his friends, per the specific information gathered by at least one team, went to an SMU basketball game. Rice (or someone with him), per the specific information gathered by at least one team, fired multiple bullets into the empty car belonging to Kendric Davis.
Pro Football Talk
While the outlet describes the incident as “previously unreported”, they note that “multiple sources expressed a belief that every team was aware of the incident before the draft, including the Chiefs.”
Additionally, a report from veteran sportswriter Bob McGinn indicates that Rice, prior to the draft, had been labeled as a “scout’s nightmare.”
“Has the size (6-0 ½, 205), speed (4.42), athletic ability (41-inch vertical jump) and production (233 receptions, 25 touchdowns) to be a high draft choice,” McGinn wrote. “At least one team, however, has removed him from its draft board because of behavioral issues. ‘He’s talented, but not a good dude,’ one personnel director said.”
It’s unclear who that team was, but TMSPN points out McGinn’s career spanned decades in covering the Green Bay Packers. The Athletic indicates at least three NFL teams took Rice off their draft board while another dropped his value due to “several flags.”
All of this begs the question – why did most NFL teams pass on Rice, including the Packers who were in desperate need of help at the WR position, but the Chiefs did not?
They might have saved themselves a lot of headaches.
Chiefs Prepared To Be Without Rashee Rice
Rashee Rice’s previous legal issues are well-known to readers of Bounding Into Sports. Video captured the NFL player driving a Lamborghini alongside a Chevrolet Corvette at a high rate of speed in March.
Drivers of both vehicles lost control resulting in a multi-car accident. Four people were treated for injuries.
Rice is now facing eight felony charges in connection with his role in the accident. They include one count of aggravated assault, one count of collision involving serious bodily injury, and six counts of collision involving injury.
NFL insider James Palmer claims that Kansas City Chiefs officials are preparing to be without Rice for “half a season at least”, a potential punishment for his role in the crash.
An encore performance now has him at the scene of a possible assault at a Dallas nightclub which resulted in a man being treated at a local hospital after police observed “visible swelling on one side of his face.”
Adding a potential assault and gunfire might enhance any punishment from league officials.
How Will It Affect KC?
Rice was a rookie in 2023 but quickly blossomed into an integral part of the Kansas City Chiefs offense. He had 79 catches for 938 yards and 7 touchdowns in his first NFL season.
In Super Bowl LVIII, he grabbed 6 catches for 39 yards as the Chiefs defeated the 49ers, 25-22. In doing so, those 6 catches earned him the record for most postseason receptions by a rookie.
Mahomes has called his club’s shot in the off-season, insisting the Chiefs will win the Super Bowl again next season and become the first team ever to win three in a row.
Without Rice on the field, that becomes a bigger challenge. Having to answer questions about the many legal issues he is facing could affect the rest of the team throughout the season. This media attention will be vastly different than the glowing coverage they earned during the Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce saga.
It’ll be interesting to see how Kansas City responds to all of it.
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