Rashee Rice was booked on eight felony charges stemming from a hit-and-run incident in Dallas in late March. As the Chiefs wide receiver navigates his legal situation, he’s also likely to face punishment from the NFL.

[RELATED: Chiefs WR Rashee Rice Taken Into Custody]

Albert Breer of SI.com writes that the Chiefs are “bracing for” a Rice suspension. ESPN’s Adam Schefter echoes that sentiment, writing that Rice is expected to be slapped with a “multigame suspension.” Of course, considering Roger Goodell‘s penchant for cracking down on off-the-field incidents, this shouldn’t come as a huge surprise.

Both Breer and Schefter opine that Rice’s looming suspension may end up influencing the front office’s draft approach. Breer writes that wide receiver is now “higher on the list than it might’ve been a couple of months ago,” while Schefter notes that the Chiefs were seeking receiver reinforcement even before Rice’s legal issues.

The Chiefs already made one splash at the position, adding Marquise Brown to their receivers room. However, if Rice is out of the picture, the team is eyeing a similar WR corps that underwhelmed in 2023. While Brown and Travis Kelce can soak up plenty of snaps, Patrick Mahomes would still have to lean on the likes of Justin Watson, Skyy Moore, and Kadarius Toney (who, perhaps surprisingly, remains in the team’s plans). Rice has recently been virtually attending the Chiefs’ offseason program.

Rice was clocked driving 119 miles per hour prior to the March crash. He turned himself in after a warrant was issued for his arrest, and he is facing charges of aggravated assault, collision involving serious bodily injury, and collision causing injury.

In addition to the forfeited paychecks via an eventual suspension, Rice will be facing more financial repercussions. Rice and SMU’s Theodore Knox, who was also involved in the hit-and-run, are being sued for over $1MM in damages and $10MM in punitive damages by two victims in the crash (per Olivia Johnson of Fox4 in Kansas City).

APRIL 11: Rice has turned himself in, Lopez reports. The Chiefs wide receiver was moved to the DeSoto (Texas) Jail, posting a combined bond of $40K. All eight of Rice’s charges are felony counts. Additionally, SMU suspended the driver of the other vehicle in this accident — Knox — earlier Thursday.

APRIL 10: Rashee Rice‘s legal situation stemming from a hit-and-run incident in Dallas has seen a notable but expected development. The second-year Chiefs receiver is the subject of an arrest warrant, WFAA’s Rebecca Lopez and Paul Livengood report.

Rice is facing a total of eight charges, per the warrant: six counts of collision involving bodily injury, one count of collision involving serious bodily injury and one count of aggravated assault. The report indicates Rice now has one day to turn himself in to police.

The 23-year-old was one of two people behind the wheel when a Lamborghini SUV and a Corvette lost control the night of March 30. The drivers were believed to be racing, and they fled the scene immediately after the crash. 10.8 grams of marijuana was found in Rice’s vehicle after the crash, per a separate WFAA report. That amount would lead to a Class B misdemeanor charge in Texas. The latter report adds that all occupants (six in total, between the two vehicles) fled the scene of the crash.

Rice has since retained legal counsel, and he has accepted responsibility for his role in the crash (which caused two of its victims to be hospitalized). Rice is also leasing the Corvette, which was being driven at the time by Theodore Knox. The latter now faces the same charges as Rice, per the Dallas Police Department. Knox is listed on SMU’s football roster; Rice spent his four-year college career with the Mustangs.

Rice’s attorney acknowledged last week that he and his client expected charges to be laid in this situation. He added the latter intends to cover the expenses facing the victims of the crash. Rice has publicly stated he will cooperate with authorities in their investigation, and doing so will now include surrendering himself to police in the immediate future.

Kansas City endured plenty of struggles in the receiving corps last season, but Rice had a productive rookie season with 938 yards and seven touchdowns on 79 receptions. He added another 26 catches and one score during the team’s run to a second straight Super Bowl, positioning himself as a key figure in the team’s offense for 2024 and beyond. The Chiefs signed Marquise Brown in free agency, but the team could make further additions during the upcoming draft.

The NFL indicated (via Mark Maske of the Washington Post) the league continues to monitor the Rice situation. Legal action is not required for fines or suspensions to be handed down, but it would not come as a surprise if the league elected to await further developments now that formal charges are in place.

APRIL 4: Rice’s lawyer confirmed (via the Kansas City Star’s Sam McDowell) his client was involved in the crash. Rice was driving the Lamborghini SUV, not the Corvette, on Saturday. No charges have been filed, but Rice’s attorney (via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s James Hartley) expects charges to come down soon.

Rice’s attorney, Texas state senator Royce West, declined to answer a question as to why the Chiefs wideout and others left the scene but indicated his client intends to take care of the injury- and damage-driven expenses incurred by the other crash victims.

APRIL 3: Rashee Rice met with Dallas police about his alleged role in the Saturday hit-and-run incident, a six-car crash believed to have been caused by two vehicles street racing.

The Chiefs wide receiver accepted “full responsibility” for his role in the accident, though the 23-year-old did not specify what that role was. A Corvette and a Lamborghini Urus were racing along a stretch of the North Central Expressway, and Rice now has ties to both vehicles. A police call sheet suspected Rice as the driver of the Corvette, and Kelli Smith of the Dallas Morning News reports the SMU alum rented the Lamborghini SUV in March.

The only person contractually allowed to drive the Urus while renting it, Rice rented the vehicle for more than $10K per month. He was expected to return it “sometime in June,” Smith adds. A text message reviewed by the Morning News indicated “Rashee” promised to pay for any damages. Rice said Wednesday he will continue to cooperate with authorities.

Both drivers lost control of their vehicles in the crash, causing a high-speed collision when the Lamborghini barreled into a center median wall just before 6:30pm Saturday. The two drivers fled the scene before providing any information. Three men were in the Lamborghini. Two other people involved in the accident suffered minor injuries and needed to be hospitalized. No arrest has been made.

More details on the wreck have since emerged. The two vehicles attempted to pass cars in the left lane, per Smith, who adds the cars collided with other vehicles across several lanes along the Dallas-area highway. At least three victims in this accident have brought in legal counsel; Rice did so on Sunday.

It remains uncertain which car Rice was driving in this accident — if, in fact, he was behind the wheel of either vehicle — but the 2023 second-round pick is closely tied to the wreck. It may be too early to suggest Rice is a clear candidate for an NFL suspension, but that would be on the radar if a charge is eventually filed.

APRIL 1: Rice retained legal counsel, per CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson. The wide receiver’s new legal representative said Monday (via the Dallas Morning News’ Calvin Watkins) his client is cooperating with local authorities.

MARCH 31: A car accident Saturday night has produced a police investigation centering around Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice. Police are searching for Rice in connection with the crash, Kelli Smith and R.J. Coyle of the Dallas Morning News report.

This “major accident” involving a vehicle believed to be registered or leased to Rice occurred around 6:20pm Saturday on a Dallas highway. A driver of a Chevrolet Corvette and a driver of a Lamborghini SUV were speeding on a stretch of the North Central Expressway, per Dallas police, causing the accident.

Both drivers lost control of their vehicles in the crash, causing a high-speed collision when the Lamborghini barreled into a center median wall in a six-car accident. The two drivers fled the scene before providing any information, according to the Morning News. The two vehicles were believed to be racing, per WFAA’s Pete Freedman and Rebecca Lopez. Three men were in the Lamborghini; Rice is believed to have been driving the Corvette.

Two others involved in the accident suffered minor injuries and needed to be hospitalized. No arrest has been made, but a police call sheet confirms Rice is at the center of a search, Smith and Coyle note. Rice will have some questions to answer ahead of his second NFL offseason, though WFAA notes Dallas police have not named the 23-year-old NFLer a suspect at this point.

The Chiefs chose Rice 55th overall out of SMU in last year’s draft. A year after the team chose Skyy Moore in the second round, Rice joined a squad in need at wide receiver. The Chiefs’ receiver trouble became well documented last season, as drops plagued the defending Super Bowl champions. The team’s uneven season at the position also featured backup wideout Justyn Ross landing on the commissioner’s exempt list and eventually receiving a six-game suspension.

Rice emerged as the team’s most dependable wideout and finished his rookie year with 79 receptions for 938 yards and seven touchdowns. Rice’s touchdown and yardage totals each ranked second for a rookie in Chiefs history. As the team could not coax steady production from its more experienced wide receivers throughout last season, its 6-foot-2 rookie — obtained after efforts to trade up for a receiver in last year’s first round did not produce a deal — came through.

Rice added an eight-reception, 130-yard showing in the Chiefs’ wild-card win over the Dolphins, and he caught six passes in the team’s Super Bowl LVIII win. He will be expected to be a key part of Kansas City’s 2024 receiving corps, which will also include Marquise Brown and perhaps another notable addition. But the results of this investigation could put Rice on the radar for an NFL suspension.