Content Warning: This story contains references to domestic violence that some readers may find distressing. If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available through the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).
It is no longer safe for the Kansas City Chiefs to count on Rashee Rice.
On Wednesday, TMZ published a report that the Chiefs wide receiver was named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by the plaintiff, Dacoda Jones, who is Rice's former girlfriend. The lawsuit, which alleges violent and destructive behavior on the part of Rice against Jones, was filed in a Dallas Court and comes after Jones posted similar accusations against Rice on Instagram (which was subsequently taken down).
Jones's initial post on social media never specifically named Rice, although the inference was clear. This time, the allegations have come forth on a different level, which will require a response from the team and the league. According to the lawsuit, "the plaintiff seeks, at this time, only monetary relief over $1 million."
The veracity of the accusations at this time cannot be verified, and Rice has not been charged in this specific instance. However, the allegations are part of a bigger picture of disturbing behavior and reckless choices on the part of the Chiefs' wide receiver. While the Chiefs are typically patient to allow a legal process to play out before taking any official action or making a statement, Rice appears to have reached a point of no return in Kansas City.
Rashee Rice is a variable that must be overlooked at this point in the Chiefs' roster construction for 2026.
Rice was suspended for six games to start the 2025 season due to felony charges brought against him for reckless driving. Injuries have played a factor outside of legal troubles or drama, which has kept the Chiefs' former second-round pick from living up to the team's hoped-for impact.
A couple of things have changed for the Chiefs this time around. While Kansas City could afford to be patient with a player dealing with allegations or accusations for the first time, the truth is that Rice has lost any benefit of the doubt. Even if the lawsuit is dropped and Rice is exonerated at some point down the road, the Chiefs will still deal with the fallout all the same, both from a public relations standpoint as well as roster uncertainty.
It's to that second point that the timing becomes a critical factor for the Chiefs. General manager Brett Veach is facing the most important offseason in the Patrick Mahomes era, with major roster reconstruction ahead for a franchise that fell from Super Bowl favorites to drafting in the top ten. Rice now presents a variable at a position that already required attention. In short, the Chiefs cannot afford to count on Rice being a part of the picture any longer.
That doesn't mean that Rice will be released. It also doesn't mean that Rice won't make an impact going forward. All of that will be determined in time. However, the Chiefs cannot plan for any of this. It only makes sense for Veach to move forward with Rice off the board, thinking of the receiver position as even more needy than it was before.