When Kansas City Chiefs rookie WR Rashee Rice approached the podium after his first training camp practice he took some time to poke fun at himself. He walked up in front of the media members, feigning like he was breathing heavily and struggling after a tough workout.
Rashee Rice's intro at his Training Camp presser today 😂 #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/UBY6jfjRTV
— Marleah Campbell (@MarleahKCTV5) July 19, 2023
The truth is, Rice did seem to struggle during his first day, battling dehydration and vomiting during the course of the 90-minute practice. It was a mild day by St. Joseph’s standards with humidity pushing the heat index upward of 90 degrees.
Andy Reid’s training camps are also known to be among the toughest in the NFL and Rice knew that coming into this.
“They always tell us to come be in shape. Our wide receivers, this is like a track team,” Rice told reporters after practice. “So we come knowing that we’ve got to be expected to run until practice is over.”
This isn’t the first time that this issue has popped up for Rice during his short time with the Chiefs. After the team’s rookie minicamp following the 2023 NFL draft, Andy Reid told reporters that Rice needed to get his running in. Reporters noted that he appeared gassed a few times during practice.
As far as the puking is concerned, this seems to be something that goes back as long as Rice has been playing football. In an interview with The Dallas Morning News ahead of the 2023 NFL draft, Rice revealed that as a kid he used to throw up every time he’d score a touchdown.
“They kind of would just pitch me the ball,” Rice said, “and at that time I didn’t really know about first downs, so I was running to score every time. And I’d always throw up.”
It’s worth noting that he did score a touchdown in 7-on-7 drills. This also better explains his response after his first day, where he didn’t seem humbled, but instead claimed he doesn’t necessarily mind puking during practice.
“I told (the Chiefs’ coaches), ‘To be honest with y’all, I don’t mind puking,'” Rice said. “That just means I’m working as hard as I can so that I won’t puke anymore and will be ready for the games.”
Still, this is likely something they’ll be looking to get under control as training camp progresses, so it doesn’t become a distraction. It shouldn’t be a problem to get under control as many NFL players deal with dehydration and nausea in practice. Rice even already has a former NFL player vying to help him out.
Adam tell Rahsee i can fix this issue in a matter of 24hrs to ensure it NEVER happens again ✅ https://t.co/eRECM7Xh0Z
— Chad Johnson (@ochocinco) July 19, 2023
During his second-ever training camp practice on Thursday, Rice was reportedly better adjusted in terms of his hydration and running. ESPN’s Adam Teicher reports, “No puke this time.”
