While the part of offseason workouts that happen in mid-May are technically voluntary for teams in the National Football League, the truth is that attendance is typically high for multiple reasons. For the Kansas City Chiefs, not only are they expecting a majority of players to show up but wide receiver Rashee Rice will also be in attendance.
Per ESPN reporter Adam Schefter, Rice is expected to be a full participant in Phase Three of the team's offseason program, which means the second-year wideout is expected to be around for much of the next three weeks at Arrowhead.
The Kansas City Chiefs will have wide receiver Rashee Rice as a full participant in offseason workouts despite a likely suspension on the way.
There are two things to clarify here: 1.) the programming and, 2.) RIce's dilemma. To address the former, the Chiefs are one of many teams now headed into Phase 3 of their offseason training activities which allow for 10 days of practice broken up into three segments:
- Segment 1 - May 20-22
- Segment 2 - May 28-30
- Segment 3 - June 4-7
Given that it's Monday, May 20, the Chiefs are expecting a majority of the roster back for walkthroughs, individual and group workouts, and drills that include 7-on-7 and 11-on-11. Nothing is mandatory, however, and live contact is prohibited.
As for Rice, the Chiefs' former second-round pick is facing eight felony charges related to a multi-vehicle crash that caused injuries and significant damage that was all initiated by Rice's decision to race sports cars with an acquaintance on a Dallas highway earlier this year. The league is expected to levy a sizeable suspension, but nothing is certain yet.
At the very least, RIce's standing with the team is not in jeopardy as the Chiefs likely would not let him around Arrowhead if they planned on sacking him before the regular season. However, his availability for Week 1 or any other section of the 2024 regular season is still unknown.