Rashee Rice already faces a long and arduous road back to the field for the Kansas City Chiefs even when strictly speaking about his knee injury. It’s a serious one that required significant time for the swelling to even go down enough to get the required tests to gauge its severity. Now that the extent of the damage is known and surgery has been performed, at least the player and team can turn their attention to the future.

Then again, everything in that direction is still just as cloudy.

For those who were hoping further tests would at least give Rice some clarity about the way forward, the truth is that his injury is only part of the narrative at work in his career, which makes any discussion of his return to the Chiefs that much more complicated.

The road back to the field is going to be a long one for Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice.

First, the truth about Rice’s knee injury is that the timeline for him to return is similar to that of a torn ACL, per Chiefs head coach Andy Reid. That alone means that the Chiefs will be watching carefully to see how he’s looking around minicamp with the hope that he can return and look ready for the season by Week 1. Whether he’s available to them at that point is another matter completely.

That’s because Rice is also still subject to punishment from the NFL for his part in a multi-vehicle accident caused by Rice’s reckless driving earlier this year. Rice was arrested earlier this offseason after the hit-and-run and was charged with eight felony counts, including aggravated assault. For his part, Rice turned himself in and was reportedly cooperating fully with authorities.

Immediately there was talk of a suspension for Rice, but those talks have been tabled as the league and the team were ready to wait for the legal process to play out. However, those charges remain in place hanging over Rice’s head as the Chiefs went on to start their season, leaning heavily on Rice in the process.

Given the injury, it’ll be interesting to see if things move along for Rice at all at any clip that would allow the games missed via suspension to overlap with the injury. If not, Rice might be eligible to return to the Chiefs on the field only to find he’s still going to have to face a six or even eight-game suspension.

Is it possible Rice isn’t even back for over a full year? Yes. That would be a worst-case scenario, but it’s also not far-fetched. Rice’s injury is not going to make anyone viewing his legal status all the more sympathetic to his plight. That could equal a longer road ahead than expected for Rice—perhaps even well into the 2025 season.