Chiefs WR Rashee Rice: 30 days in a Texas jail a 'learning experience' after probation violation

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice called the 30 days he spent in a Texas jail over the summer a “learning experience” and a “reality check,” one that he got through by rehabbing from knee surgery and watching plenty of comedian Kevin Hart on TV to keep his spirits up.

The 26-year-old Rice was booked into a Dallas County jail on May 19 for violating the terms of his probation, which stemmed from his role in a car crash that left multiple people injured on a Texas highway. He'd had surgery about a week before the sentence to clean up debris in his right knee, which had been causing inflammation throughout much of last season.

Rice was released in June, and he resumed his rehab work alongside Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes — who was rehabbing after his own surgery to repair torn knee ligaments — at their training facility in Kansas City leading into the start of training camp.

“It was tough. It was mentally tough,” Rice said of the jail stint Tuesday, the first time the wide receiver has spoken publicly about his offseason. “They gave me ways to communicate with my teammates as well as my athletic trainer. Besides the hard times in there, just tried to keep positive — as much Kevin Hart as I could to laugh, and communicating with my teammates on the outside.”

Rice has been brilliant for Kansas City when he's been available, catching 156 passes for 1,797 yards and 14 touchdowns, and helping the Chiefs win the Super Bowl after the 2023 season. But he also missed games to a suspension following the car crash, and several injuries have kept him off the field, resulting in just 28 games played over his first three seasons in the league.

The upcoming season is without question his most important yet.

Not only does Rice has much to prove to a growing chorus of doubters, he's also entering the final year of his rookie contract. If he wants to land a lucrative, long-term deal in Kansas City or elsewhere, Rice has to not only prove that he can stay on the field but also show that he can consistently be productive for an offense that desperately needs him to be.

“I mean, it's motivating,” Rice said of impending free agency. “Honestly, just being back on the field with my brothers right now is motivating. That's in the future. And I'm just focusing on what's happening right now, and that's getting better for the team.”

The Chiefs are coming off a 6-11 season in which Mahomes hurt his knee, several others went down with injuries, and what was once one of the NFL's premier offenses looked like a shadow of itself — even before all those players were sidelined.

Chiefs general manager Brett Veach spent most of his draft capital upgrading the defense, though, including both of his first-round picks, and the biggest move to help the offense was to sign Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III to be their lead running back.

Otherwise, the Chiefs are banking on Rice and fellow wide receivers Xavier Worthy and Tyquan Thornton to take big steps forward in their development, all while hoping that 36-year-old tight end Travis Kelce can still be a reliable and effective pass-catcher.

“We're going to do some amazing things,” Rice predicted, “not only because we're great receivers but we have a great coaching staff around us, and a great quarterback and foundation in general.”

Mahomes has certainly looked like his normal self in camp, moving around on his reconstructed knee as if nothing ever happened. That bodes well for Rice, the passing game and the Chiefs in general as they prepare for the upcoming season.

“He was my motivation every morning,” Rice said.

Rice was asked whether he had anything to say to fans who felt let down by his off-the-field problems, or to young players who might be looking up to him. He went back to Mahomes and the teammates that have been with him through thick and thin.

“Find someone that you can lean on. Find someone you can talk to,” Rice said, “and basically don't be scared to vocalize yourself, or say exactly what's on your mind, because someone is going through the same thing. There's too many people in the world for there not to be someone going through the same thing.”

Notes: The Chiefs are signing DE Emmanuel Ogbah, who appeared in 10 games for them during the 2019 season. The veteran spent last season with Jacksonville. “It was disappointing the year we had him. I thought he was coming on and he got hurt, and we didn't have him at the end of the year,” Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said. “If he's part of our group, I'll be excited.”

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Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice runs during NFL football training camp Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026, in St. Joseph, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice runs the ball during NFL football training camp Friday, July 31, 2026, in St. Joseph, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice (4) waits with teammates to start a drill during NFL football training camp Friday, July 31, 2026, in St. Joseph, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice practices during NFL football training camp Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026, in St. Joseph, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87), and wide receiver Rashee Rice (4) walk to NFL football training camp Friday, July 31, 2026, in St. Joseph, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Primary elections are taking place in six U.S. states on Tuesday — Alabama, Connecticut, Minnesota, South Carolina, Vermont and Wisconsin.

Minnesota voters will settle a moderate-versus-progressive Democratic U.S. Senate primary between centrist U.S. Rep. Angie Craig and progressive Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan. In the race for governor, Mike Lindell, known as the MyPillow Guy, leads a crowded Republican primary with President Donald Trump’s endorsement, while Sen. Amy Klobuchar faces minimal opposition for the Democratic nomination.

The Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor is another high-profile clash between the party’s establishment and progressive wings, as democratic socialist Francesca Hong tries to rise above establishment candidate David Crowley. In a Republican primary for U.S. House, Trump-backed candidate Michael Alfonso, the 26-year-old son-in-law of U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, is seeking to win Duffy’s former district.

And Republicans in South Carolina are casting ballots in a special primary election to replace the late U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham on the state’s general election ballot. The crowded race has attracted top party members, including two congressmen and a former governor — but Trump has endorsed Graham’s sister, Sen. Darline Graham, a political unknown appointed to serve out the final months of her late brother's current term.

Here's the latest:

Debra Dowd said she was deciding between two candidates in the South Carolina Senate primary, U.S. Rep. Russell Fry and Sen. Darline Graham, but ended up going with the latter in part because she admired the late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s service.

“I just think her brother did a wonderful job for all the time he’s been in the Senate, so I went for her,” Dowd said after casting her ballot for the late senator’s sister in Conway during early voting last week.

It wasn’t all about Lindsey Graham’s service, though. Dowd said she considered President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Darline Graham, as well as her performance earlier this month, in which the candidate voiced strong support for the president’s agenda.

“Watching the debate, I liked her answers,” Dowd said. “Her debate performance was really good.”

The longtime South Carolina Republican lawmaker had been seeking a fifth term when he died suddenly a month ago, and the campaign to pick a new GOP nominee has been a whirlwind.

State law sets out the timeline that officials must follow for a special election when a seat becomes vacant. Candidates had about two weeks to file for the contest, then two weeks to campaign.

Graham’s sister was swiftly appointed to serve out the remaining months of his current term. In a move that surprised many political watchers in the state, Darline Graham also launched a primary bid, something she said came at the urging of President Donald Trump, with whom her late brother had been closely aligned.

Preliminary medical findings note Lindsey Graham died from an aortic tear.

After casting his ballot during early voting in Conway last week, George Mitford said he picked U.S. Rep. Russell Fry in the special Senate GOP primary because he favored the two-term congressman’s experience over current Sen. Darline Graham, appointed last month to serve the rest of her late brother’s current term.

“I just thought he’d probably had more experience in this than she would have had,” Mitford said, adding that he had supported Sen. Lindsey Graham’s tenure in the Senate.

“I’m a conservative and a Republican, and I just think he was the best choice,” said Mitford, who lives in Fry’s district along South Carolina’s northern coastal area.

The Democratic primary features a race between economist Amanda Janoo and Aly Richards, a former child advocacy organization CEO.

Richards, 40, grew up in Newbury, Vermont, and has received endorsements from former Vermont governors Howard Dean and Madeleine Kunin. She previously worked for former Gov. Peter Shumlin and on former President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign.

Janoo, 38, was born on a farm in Strafford, Vermont. She began her career working with the United Nations and international development organizations.

Scott, who has served five terms and is one term away from becoming the state’s longest-serving governor, is running unopposed.

Vermont is one of two states, along with neighboring New Hampshire, that hold a gubernatorial election every two years.

Republicans redrew Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District after the U.S. Supreme Court severely weakened the Voting Rights Act earlier this year.

The redraw added a Republican-leaning seat to the state’s congressional map by shifting the boundaries of one represented by a Black Democrat.

The seat is now held by Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures, who was unopposed in his primary and has said he plans to aggressively defend the seat.

Six Republicans are competing in the special congressional primary for the chance to challenge Figures in November.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has placed Figures on its list of “frontline” candidates for extra support in what they consider the most pivotal districts. The National Republican Congressional Committee has similarly put the district on its list of targets for 2026.

In the Wisconsin governor’s race, software engineer Cody Chandler said he didn’t worry about electability when he cast his ballot for Hong.

“In the past I’d think about who could win,” said Chandler. “But this time I’m voting for who I want to win.”

He’s thrilled by Hong and the progressive movement around her.

“She’s probably the most exciting candidate I’ve seen,” said Chandler, 35, who voted in the town of Hudson. He sees himself as a progressive, someone inspired a decade ago by Sen. Bernie Sanders, and volunteered for Hong’s campaign.

“She seems to be like a real working-class person. Sure, she stumbles over her words sometimes — but so do I,” he said, laughing. “She feels like one of us.”

Linda Biles believes Hong’s politics will frighten voters like her — a Republican in a largely rural area who votes Democratic because she dislikes Trump and politicians who back him.

“I think just the word ‘socialism’ is turning off Republicans,” said Biles, a 71-year-old retired home economics teacher, after casting her ballot in the western Wisconsin town of Hudson. “It scares them away.”

Crowley, she said, was an obvious choice: “He’s got more of a chance of beating Tiffany,” she said.

Michele Tafoya is seeking the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate.

She strode into a suburban Minneapolis church with a phalanx of reporters and photographers watching. She checked in with poll workers, filled out her ballot and fed it into the counter.

“How are you?” she asked the top election official on site.

“I’ll be glad when you’re done,” the stressed-out official responded with a laugh.

In the parking lot out front, she argued that this will be the year voters end a 20-year losing streak for Republicans running statewide in Minnesota. Voters, she said, are fed up after widespread reports of fraud in public assistance programs.

“Minnesotans are ready. We’ve had a crisis of leadership here,” Tafoya said. “We’ve seen what career politicians have done in this state. They’ve brought us to a place of national embarrassment, and this state is ready for change.”

Asked if she would have handled anything differently about the sprint of a special Senate primary, Graham said she had no regrets.

“I don’t think I could have done anything any differently,” Graham told reporters outside the Lexington church where she and her family voted. “It was my priority to be in Washington as your representative, working hard, and I got back here just as soon as I possibly could.”

With the Senate staying in session until early Saturday morning, Graham — as South Carolina’s interim senator — was in Washington for votes during much of the campaign.

Anticipating a runoff to follow Tuesday’s crowded GOP Senate primary, Graham told reporters that she would “get out and work really hard to earn” voters in the ensuing two-week period.

Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar has had a successful career in Washington, but she’d prefer to head back home to Minnesota. She’s the leading candidate for governor in the state’s Democratic primary.

She’s not alone. Four senators ran for governor this year, underscoring how sharply the balance of political ambition has shifted away from Washington.

Although the Senate was once seen as the capstone of a long political career or a premier perch for launching presidential bids, it has become increasingly stagnant and dysfunctional.

Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama both won Republican gubernatorial primaries this year.

But Colorado Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet wasn’t as fortunate. He lost to state Attorney General Phil Weiser.

Bronin was a sophomore at Yale University when Larson was elected to the U.S. House in 1998.

Now he’s standing in the way of Larson getting a 15th term representing Connecticut. The two face off in another contest that pits the party’s old guard against a younger generation.

Bronin, 46, is the former mayor of Hartford. He’s a lawyer, former Rhodes scholar and U.S. Navy Reserve officer.

Larson is 78. While he has been popular in his central Connecticut district throughout his time in office, concerns about his health arose when he suffered a partial seizure during a speech on the House floor last year.

In a flip of the usual script for primary challengers, Bronin can lay claim to be the establishment candidate. He won the Democratic state party’s endorsement at a nominating convention earlier this year.

The interim senator and her 17-year-old daughter Nicole Nordone voted midday Tuesday at a Lexington County church.

“It was a hard choice,” Nicole said jokingly to her father, as they walked out of the voting area so that Darline Graham could speak with reporters.

After she fed her ballot into a reader machine, Graham told poll workers that she typically votes at another location. Many polling sites have been changed for Tuesday’s special election due to several factors, including classes beginning this week at many schools typically used for voting.

South Carolinians who are 17 years old but will be 18 before the general election can vote in primaries.

Michael Alfonso has leaned into his endorsement from Trump in the five-way Republican primary for Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District.

The 26-year-old Alfonso has faced blowback from some Republican leaders in the district who question whether he is too young and inexperienced for the job.

Alfonso is counting on Trump’s endorsement carrying the day in the deeply red district.

Duffy held the congressional seat from 2011 until 2019, when he resigned mid-term. He returned to politics last year when Trump tapped him to serve as transportation secretary. Alfonso is married to Duffy’s daughter, Evita Duffy.

After losing a top Senate advocate when the South Carolina Republican suddenly died, Trump has angled to play a role in picking his replacement, too.

Trump heralded the selection of Darline Graham as “a fabulous tribute” to serve as her brother’s interim replacement. And he urged her to run in the special primary, endorsing Graham before she’d made her candidacy official.

In forging a relationship with Darline Graham, Trump could be angling to develop another ally to help steer his agenda through the Senate.

So far, Darline Graham has been doing just that. Repeatedly stressing to voters her intent to support Trump’s policy positions, she often references in particular her co-sponsorship of a voting bill that’s become a key priority for the president.

Trump relied on Lindsey Graham in the Senate and has endorsed Darline Graham to replace him.

She had already been known as Lindsey Graham’s sister and lifelong supporter, but since her brother’s death a month ago, Darline Graham has been thrust into the political spotlight.

A day after the late senator’s sudden death was announced, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster named Darline Graham to serve the remaining months on his current term, which expires in January. She was sworn in the next day and took his spot on powerful committees, including Judiciary.

Days later, Darline Graham was among the candidates jumping into a special GOP primary to replace her late brother on November ballots. She’s appeared at various stump events and one debate, although Senate business kept her off the campaign trail as other hopefuls traversed the state.

U.S. Rep. Angie Craig has support from the party’s establishment, while Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan is backed by prominent figures on the left including Sen. Bernie Sanders.

The primary will again take the temperature of Democratic voters a week after progressive Abdul El-Sayed won a bitter and divisive primary in Michigan that fired up the left and fueled anxiety among party leaders that Democrats will alienate moderate swing voters.

Craig says her record of winning repeatedly in a battleground House district will ensure the seat stays in Democratic hands. Flanagan says Craig hasn’t stood firm enough against President Donald Trump and wealthy donors.

Wisconsin voter Jesse Heer said Hong understands “what it’s like to live here and have to afford to live here.”

Heer, a 32-year-old business owner from Madison, said Hong’s focus on affordability issues was the top reason he voted for her. And he’s not buying the argument from other Democrats, including Hong’s more moderate challenger, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, that she will have a harder time winning in the general election.

“I think she’s a good candidate,” Heer said. “I think a lot of people agree.”

Hong voter Kelly McClurg, 40, of Sun Prairie, says Hong has shown “she’ll be able to push back more” on issues that Democrats care about, like affordability.

McClurg said if fellow Democrats believe in her, and don’t assume she can’t beat Republican Tom Tiffany, “she can win.”

Wisconsin voters who cast their ballots Tuesday for the gubernatorial candidate favored by more mainstream Democrats say they are confident the party will unite even if the progressive challenger wins.

David Zimmerman, a 79-year-old retired industrial engineering professor, voted for Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley. Crowley is endorsed by Gov. Tony Evers and is seen as the pick of more moderate Democrats.

Zimmerman says he worries “a lot” about progressive candidate Francesca Hong’s ability to defeat Republican Tom Tiffany in November.

“I think she’s going to have trouble winning,” Zimmerman said.

But both Zimmerman and fellow Crowley voter Julie Martinson, 69, predict Democrats will come together even if Hong wins. They said they would vote for her in November.

“There’s no reason we can’t galvanize around her and get her in there,” Martinson said.

No Connecticut governor has served three consecutive terms in modern times. Former Republican Gov. John G. Rowland was elected to a third consecutive term in November 2002 but he resigned in 2004 amid a corruption scandal.

In Tuesday’s Democratic primary, Lamont, 72, takes on state Rep. Josh Elliott, 41, who is running left of the current governor.

One of two Democratic governors who attended President Donald Trump’s inauguration, Lamont has carefully chosen which issues to criticize the Republican president on. That tactic has prompted complaints from more liberal Democrats in Connecticut.

This post has been updated to correct the ages of Lamont and Elliott. Lamont is 72, not 71. Elliott is 41, not 42.

The state is holding special primaries in four congressional districts after it won permission from the U.S. Supreme Court to change its congressional maps. The state tossed out the results of May primaries and scheduled the Tuesday special primaries using the new map.

Turnout for party primaries is typically low. It was 23% in the May primary and 10.7% for the June runoff. It is expected to be particularly low in a special late-summer primary, when people are unaccustomed to voting.

Six Republicans are seeking the GOP nomination in the redrawn 2nd Congressional District. The winner will challenge Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures in November.

Republican candidates and party officials have been trying to promote the special primary and get voters to the polls. The primaries will be decided without a runoff.

Polling places opened across the state at 7 a.m. EDT, and voters have until 7 p.m. to cast their ballots.

It’s only been two months since South Carolina voters made their picks in the primary elections in June. But Graham’s sudden death last month set into motion a special primary to pick a Republican replacement for the general election ballot in November.

Candidates have only had a matter of weeks to campaign.

There were three days of early voting last week, and Tuesday’s special election also coincides with the first day of school in some areas, so polling places have changed for many who typically are assigned to vote at schools for summertime primaries.

The topsy turvy race pits democratic socialist Francesca Hong against the governor’s endorsed candidate David Crowley.

Hong has ridden a wave of support from liberals to bolster her insurgent campaign. Crowley had quit the race but got back in — with Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ endorsement.

Crowley rejoined the race after Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez dropped out last month amid a campaign finance scandal.

Former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes had the highest name recognition after a 2022 U.S. Senate run, but he also dropped out less than two weeks before the primary amid questions about inappropriate behavior.

In the Republican primary for governor, U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany has Trump’s endorsement and faces nominal opposition.

Progressive candidates for governor in Wisconsin and U.S. Senate in Minnesota are increasing the pressure on a Democratic establishment that has spent the year on its heels.

Today’s primaries come a week after Abdul El-Sayed narrowly defeated Rep. Haley Stevens in Michigan’s divisive and costly U.S. Senate primary. El-Sayed’s victory has energized the left while stoking fears among Democratic Party leaders that the shift to the left, particularly in battleground states like Michigan and Wisconsin, will make it more difficult to win in November.

Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, greets supporters during a campaign event at the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Twin Cities Office in Minneapolis, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)

U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., candidate for U.S Senate, greets Merci Wolff and her daughter during a canvassing event at SMART Sheet Metal Workers Local #10 headquarters, Monday, Aug. 10, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)

Campaign signs for Michael Alfonso, a candidate for U.S. House in Wisconsin's 7th congressional district, line the entrance to an event, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in New Richmond, Wis. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)

David Crowley, right, Democratic candidate for Wisconsin governor talks with CJ Arthur, left, owner of WordHaven BookHouse during a campaign stop with Wisconsin Gov. Tony Ever, center, Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, in Sheboygan, Wis. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)