Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid makes his first comments on WR Rashee Rice's arrest
Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid made his first comments on WR Rashee Rice's arrest in connection to a March 30 traffic accident in the Dallas, Texas area.Speaking to reporters as the offseason workout program began, Reid opened up his press conference with some comments on the matter. Right now, the team is not rushing to […]
Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid made his first comments on WR Rashee Rice's arrest in connection to a March 30 traffic accident in the Dallas, Texas area.
Speaking to reporters as the offseason workout program began, Reid opened up his press conference with some comments on the matter. Right now, the team is not rushing to judgment. They aim to let law enforcement handle their business and assess the facts as they're gathered before deciding on Rice's future.
“As far as Rashee Rice goes, his situation, I’m leaving that just like we’ve done most of these for the law enforcement part of it to take place," Reid began. "Then, we will go from there with that. I have had an opportunity to talk to Rashee and I’m not going to get into that, but that part has been gone through.”
Reid confirmed that he'd spoken directly to Rice about the situation, but he would not provide any context surrounding their discussion. As the offseason program begins, Reid says that Rice is expected to be part of the team's virtual meetings for the next two weeks, though emphasized the fact that everything is voluntary at this point of the offseason program.
“There is no real participation other than by Zoom,” Reid said. “So, he’ll participate in that, but other than that. We don’t have anything going on here that he would be involved with. Again, just a reminder on this, it’s voluntary as we go forward. So that’s another part of it.”
It has yet to be determined whether the team will allow Rice to participate in Phase II of the offseason program when in-person work resumes in Kansas City.
“We’re just going to take it day-by-day here as we go,” Reid said.
As for how the uncertainty surrounding Rice could impact the team's draft plans, Reid didn't commit to it having a direct impact. Ultimately, they seem to want to be prepared for all of the different outcomes and future possibilities.
"We have spots and depth that we could use everywhere," Reid said. "We'll just see with the Rashee thing, how that goes. When it's all said and done, we should have players in there, ready to go."
Local KC sports radio host Darren Smith asked Coach Reid if he and the organization still trusted Rice after the accident. His response indicates there seems to be a willingness to give Rice a second chance as they continue to gather all of the facts of the incident.
"Listen, as long as he's learned from it, that's the important part of it," Reid concluded. "We'll take it from there and see what takes place, but right now we're just trying to gather everything and make sure we have all the bases covered."
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