"He almost pulled a Henry Ruggs," "Shame on you": NFL fans call out Chiefs DE for celebrating Rashee Rice's return with questionable message

Rashee Rice will play football for the first time in the 2025 season, but not everyone is happy.

On Monday, the Kansas City Chiefs' third-year wide receiver ended the six-game suspension that was meted out to him in the wake of his involvement in a 2024 vehicular incident in Dallas, clearing him to play against the Las Vegas Raiders this coming Sunday. One particular person who showed excitement was edge rusher Charles Omenihu, who wrote on his social media:

"4 (Rice's jersey number) is free."

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There was, however, much anger towards the gesture:

"Someone take his keys away," one demanded. "This is a very tasteless tweet. ...Be better," another cautioned. "He'd be in jail if he was anyone else," another insisted.

The six-game suspension, which was announced a week before the regular season began, was part of the settlement of Rice's case.

The previous month, he had pled guilty to one count each of collision involving serious bodily injury and racing on a highway causing bodily injury - both felonies. In exchange, all the original charges against him, including the count of aggravated assault, would be dropped.

Rice was ultimately sentenced to five years' probation and ordered to medically compensate the victims to the tune of $115,481.91, all out-of-pocket. He also settled with two of the victims, agreeing to pay each of them $1 million plus legal expenses, but is still being sued for anywhere between $250,000 and $1 million by a third.

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Chiefs HC Andy Reid reacts to Rashee Rice's impending return

Another person who showed positivity towards Rashee Rice's return was Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, who said during a video call on Monday:

“Listen, I know he’s been working like crazy. The rule states that we can’t work with him, but I know he’s been working out hard. And I think it’s just a matter of getting him back in the swing. I know he’s in good shape, that’s the one thing that I do know."

Rice's return will also mark the first time he, Marquise "Hollywood" Brown, and Xavier Worthy will share the field in an actual game. Reid said:

“They haven’t been on the field together other than training camp. I think they’re looking forward to it maybe even more than I’m looking forward to it. They’re excited to play together, those three are very close. We’ll see how it all works out."

Kickoff for the Chiefs-Raiders game is at 12 pm CT on CBS.

Edited by Andre Castillo