Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid believes Rashee Rice is learning harsh life lessons as he spends the early days of the NFL offseason program behind bars.
Many of Reid’s players – including star quarterback Patrick Mahomes – were back on the field for voluntary workouts this week but Rice is in jail.
The wide receiver is serving his 30-day jail sentence after violating the terms of his probation for his role in a hit-and-run crash on a Dallas highway that left multiple people injured.
The 26-year-old was booked into the Dallas County jail May 19 after testing positive for marijuana.
‘Life lessons are important,’ Reid said. ‘We are all given chances to learn, and he’s in that position now… it’s not an easy thing he’s going through.’
The head coach continued Thursday: ‘We’re moving forward as normal as we go here… when he gets back, we’ve got to get him caught up in doing what he needs to do, and make sure he gets it.’
Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid believes Rashee Rice is learning harsh life lessons
The wide receiver is serving a 30-day jail sentence after breaking the terms of his probation
Rice is due to be released on June 16, which means he will miss all of the Chiefs’ voluntary workouts along with their mandatory three-day minicamp beginning June 9.
It comes after the 26-year-old was suspended for the first six games of last season for violating the league’s personal conduct policy following the 2024 crash. It remains unclear whether he will be subject to more discipline for violating his probation.
During training camp ahead of last season, the receiver claimed he had ‘completely changed’ after the crash, when the NFL star was estimated to be speeding at 119mph before the collision.
‘You have to learn from things like that,’ Rice said at the time. ‘I’ve learned and taken advantage of being able to learn from something like that.’
Rice had surgery around a week before he was thrown in jail to clean up debris in his right knee, which had been causing inflammation. He has had to continue his rehab work while incarcerated.
‘We think he’ll be ready for camp as we go forward. We’ll just see how it goes,’ Reid said. ‘He knows the rehab he can do there, and I think they’re keeping an eye on him as far as any possible infection goes.’