The Kansas City Chiefs received additional clarification on the ongoing Rashee Rice saga on Thursday, which seems to have no end in sight. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the young wide receiver will have his disciplinary hearing on Sept. 30.
On the surface, this news is somewhat good for Chiefs fans as the team will have Rice for the first four games, which is viewed as Kansas City’s toughest stretch. Kansas City’s first four games to start the season are against the Los Angeles Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants, and Baltimore Ravens.
Three of those four teams were in the playoffs last year, so the Chiefs having Rice on the field is very important, given that they missed his presence on the field last season.
However, it appears that the NFL and the other parties involved could’ve possibly had a ruling, but they reportedly couldn’t come to terms on an agreement.
Rashee Rice context: League/player/union discussed discipline but couldn’t reach agreement, so case will be heard by Sue L. Robinson, who oversaw Deshaun Watson disciplinary hearing in 2022. My understanding is that the date is 9/30 because that’s when it fits into her schedule.
— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) August 14, 2025
Rashee Rice’s Saga Takes Another Turn Weeks Before Regular Season
According to ESPN’s Dan Graziano, the league, Rice, and the union reportedly discussed discipline but couldn’t figure out an agreement, pushing his hearing back to the end of next month.
Graziano adds that Rice’s hearing was pushed until the end of September because that date worked for the schedule of Sue L. Robinson, who also supervised the Deshaun Watson case in 2022.
One has to believe that the Chiefs would’ve liked a resolution before the season because if Rice does get suspended now, it will happen in the middle of the regular season.
The doomsday scenario for Chiefs fans is Rice getting an eight-game suspension, which would wipe out a significant chunk of the season.
However, earlier this week, we saw Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison receive a three-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. Addison pleaded no contest to a lesser charge after getting a DUI citation in 2024. If Addison got three games, the hope is that Rice will stay in the 3-4 range based on his off-the-field situation.
That said, we won’t officially know anything about the potential length of a suspension until after his hearing is over, which may or may not take some time. Until then, the Chiefs have the WRs ready to fill in for Rice.