Fantasy Football Implications on Rashee Rice and Quinshon Judkins: When Will They be Available?

News came down on Thursday relating to two NFL players facing legal issues. Both guys were/are looking at the prospect of missing multiple games, so there are both real-life and fantasy football implications based on the new reports.

Let's look at the headlines related to Kansas City wide receiver Rashee Rice and Cleveland rookie running back Quinshon Judkins and how their fantasy fortunes may have changed. We still don't have solid reports on what will happen to their 2025 seasons, but we can make guesses based on past incidents and other rumors floating around.

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Rashee Rice will have Disciplinary Hearing on September 30

This one is causing plenty of consternation and conspiracy theories from Chiefs haters online, of which there are many. The first four games of the season will take place before Rice's hearing, so he likely won't face any suspension until Week 5 at the earliest.

Rice was sentenced to 30 days in jail and five years of probation after he caused a multi-car crash while driving about 120 miles per hour. (He can serve the jail time at any point, so that's not an immediate concern.) His sentence came down about a month ago, meaning the NFL could have made the decision on a suspension any time before the season. Here's where the conspiracies come in.

Kansas City's first four games are against the Chargers in a prime-time game on the first Friday of the season, the Eagles in a Super Bowl rematch, the Giants on Sunday Night Football, and the Ravens in what will be one of the most anticipated games of the season. Those games mean a lot to the NFL, and they are undoubtedly benefiting from KC being full strength.

The Chiefs' next four games include a Monday night game, a Sunday night game, a division game, and another Monday night game, so the argument falls apart a little bit; a team like Kansas City is going to be in the spotlight often. It's probably more curious than nefarious that the league isn't ready to make a decision until a month into the season, but when it comes to the Patrick Mahomes Chiefs, the conspiracy theories will never rest.

Fantasy Football Implications

This is what I'm more worried about (and probably you as well). Rice played only four games last year before suffering a knee injury and missing the rest of the season. He had averaged eight receptions and 96 yards over the first three games while scoring two touchdowns; Rice looked like the team's top receiver. It's reasonable to think he will step back into that role.

Rice is likely to receive a four-game suspension, something that brings down his fantasy value. When you draft players before the season, injuries are generally unknown; we don't know who will suffer bad luck and go down. When we know (or assume) that a four-game absence is coming, the overall impact that player can have is lessened.

Does that mean you should skip Rice in your fantasy draft? No! Fantasy football is a season-long game. You're trying to win the most that you can out of 14(-ish) games. We know that Rice will only be available for nine of those regular season fantasy weeks counting the bye, but if he is operating as Mahomes' top target for those nine games, that is a valuable fantasy player.

Rice has been projected around WR25 to this point (including by our FantasySP ADP rankings), going in the fifth or sixth round. That number is likely to fall with the recent news, though most people anticipated that he would face a suspension this year. If he slips instead to the eighth or ninth round, for instance, Rice will become a value play. That would put him in the same range as guys like Chris Olave, Stefon Diggs, Deebo Samuel Sr., and Jordan Addison (who will miss three games himself with a suspension to start the year).

It's fine to lower Rice in your rankings because he is guaranteed to miss games but don't take him off your board completely. He is likely to play well when on the field, and he will theoretically be available for the most important weeks: the fantasy playoffs.

Quinshon Judkins will Not Face Charges

Judkins, the 36th overall pick by the Browns, was accused of domestic battery but won't face any legal ramifications. Judkins hasn't been with the team and hasn't signed his rookie contract while dealing with the issues, but it seems like that's the next step now that he is cleared of any charges.

When he finally does get on the field, Judkins could be in line to get plenty of work, as he was a highly regarded prospect, and Cleveland's roster is fairly bereft of talent. Jerome Ford is listed at the top of the depth chart; he had over 1,000 total yards in 2023 and has scored 12 total touchdowns in three years, but he seems like a middling player who could be replaced by 100 other running backs.

Fellow rookie Dylan Sampson, a fourth-round pick, is also around, but Judkins is the guy who had a little first-round buzz and went not long after Day 1. He is going to be the player given the first opportunity whenever he is ready. In fantasy football, starting running backs are worth their weight in gold.

When will he get on the field, though? After missing most of the offseason, Judkins will at most get less than three weeks of practice and might get into one game before we hit Week 1.

That doesn't mean he can't get work in that first game, but it's unlikely that Judkins will take on anything close to a full-time role until he gets acclimated to the system, and that can't happen until he's in the building. The most likely scenario is Judkins being eased in for at least the first month before he ramps up and possibly gets more involved. He also might not play much at all given his late start.

There's also a chance that Judkins could face a suspension of his own. It's probably more likely that it would happen next year, since the league hasn't had time to investigate the way it has in Rice's case, but it is something to be aware of. Then again, there's no guarantee that he will face any discipline given the circumstances.

Fantasy Football Implications

Judkins is being drafted around RB35, but unlike Rice, the news about the Browns' RB might push his value up a little bit. Right now, he's going in the 10th round or later. That's a good spot to take a lottery ticket who can sit on your bench initially and can be dropped if needed; the upside is getting a starting running back who gets bell-cow work by mid-season and takes his spot as RB1 on the depth chart.

If he rises too high, Judkins will lose his value and be a riskier proposition. Something like moving into the top 25 backs would put him in the same area as Isiah Pacheco, Aaron Jones, and Tony Pollard, clear top RBs on their teams who figure to get plenty of work. I'd rather have any of those three at that point.

If Judkins stays in the 30s, though, I like him as a late-round bench guy with upside, even if it takes a few weeks to really get heavily into the rotation. That late, most players will end up off your roster by the end of the year. Taking a high-upside option at a premium position is a good way to spend those later picks.

Isaiah Bond to Join Cleveland?

We'll just hit on this one quickly: Bond was projected as a Day 1 or 2 pick coming out of Texas this year, but a sexual assault accusation caused the wide receiver to go undrafted, and he hadn't signed with a team as of Thursday. Like Judkins, no charges will be filed against Bond, and he said that he will sign with the Browns (that hasn't yet been made official as of Thursday night).

This is another case where he will have to take time to get acclimated in Cleveland before he can make an impact, but there's not a lot of high-level talent on the depth chart after Jerry Jeudy. As a highly regarded prospect based solely on football evaluation, Bond has a chance to make an impact this season. He's not a player to draft in fantasy, but he is a name to remember as the season goes on.