Why Patrick Mahomes’ favorite weapon is in danger of missing significant time

t turns out there will be consequences from Rashee Rice’s invoivement in a multi-car crash on a Dallas freeway late last month. Local police have issued an arrest warrant for the Kansas City Chiefs receiver after he admitted that he was behind the wheel of one of the vehicles involved in a six-car pileup that injured four and cost thousands of dollars in property damage.

As a rookie in 2023, Rice became one of Patrick Mahomes’ favorite targets, and he helped the Chiefs repeat as Super Bowl champions just two short months ago. Now, the former second-round pick’s path to stardom could be curtailed by the criminal charges pending against him.

What are the charges against Rice?
According to WFAA Dallas, which first reported the news, Rice is facing multiple charges stemming for the car accident, including:

six counts of collision involving bodily injury
one count of collision involving serious bodily injury
one count of aggravated assault
The crash landed two people in a local hospital, and the Chiefs — as well as the NFL — have announced that they are “monitoring” the situation for further developments. Rice being placed in handcuffs would certainly qualify as a “further development.”

𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲: #Chiefs Rashee Rice faces eight charges.

– Six counts of collision involving bodily injury.
– One count of collision involving serious bodily injury.
– One count of aggravated assault. https://t.co/ZbTPTPRL6Y pic.twitter.com/Ae9YPr8QPA

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) April 10, 2024

Rice has previously apologized for his role in the accident — two of the vehicles in it, a Corvette and a Lamborghini that he was driving, were involved in the crash — and said he took “full responsibility” for his actions. Rice’s lawyer, Royce West, characterized the former Southern Methodist star as a “young man that made a mistake” and said he was ready to “do everything in his power” to bring the injured persons’ lives “back to normal” and pay for the damages that the crash caused.

What are Rice’s next steps?
According to the warrant, Rice has 24 hours to turn himself in and to be processed. Lawyers will likely work to keep him out of jail, but what happens after that could impact the Chiefs as they plan for the 2024 season.

Rice has seemed genuinely remorseful since the incident, which could play well in a courtroom and with the NFL’s investigators. However, there is no escaping other details of the crash — that marijuana was in Rice’s possession at the time of the accident, and that the aggravated assault charge against him is fairly serious.

It remains to be seen whether the NFL moves to suspend Rice — if the league decides on that course of action, the 23-year-old probably will not miss many regular-season games. Rice caught 79 passes for 938 yards and seven touchdowns last season, adding another 262 yards and a further score in the playoffs.