Fantasy Football News Update: Rashee Rice, Najee Harris, And More

Training camps are popping open, and the NFL news is starting to come in a more steady flow. Here's the latest, as compiled by Kendall Valenzuela, who then put a fantasy football spin to it.

Ruling on Rashee Rice

We got an update for the Chiefs' wide receivers—Rashee Rice has been sentenced to 30 days of jail time and five years' probation stemming from the multi-car crash that happened last year. Rice can serve the jail time at any point during the five-year probationary period.

We can now expect the NFL to begin its process of disciplinary action, where many have reported that Rice is likely to receive a multi-game suspension for the upcoming 2025 season. This is a wait-and-see situation, unfortunately. We can't assume anything, but if you're drafting right now you should try to prepare to be without Rice for potentially 4-6 games. Xavier Worthy is now Fantasy Life's consensus WR 19, with expectations that he will climb even higher as the season gets closer.

Chargers RB Injured

I wrote last week that the Najee Harris injury is going to be one we monitor closely these next few weeks. We got an update from the Chargers General Manager Joe Hortiz a few days ago and it's not as positive as we would have hoped. Harris is starting training camp on the non-football injury list. During the 4th of July, Harris suffered an unfortunate superficial eye injury. It was reported that Harris is still receiving treatment for his injury.

Here's what Hortiz said in a press conference on Thursday:

"Surface-level injury, obviously around the eye, so I'm sure there's bruising and all that. But we haven't seen him … We'll get more clarity when he gets here and our doctors see him, but we're in communication with the doctors there."

We never want injuries, but any time a player starts to become limited before training camp we have to take that next-man-up mentality and Omarion Hampton has been heavily drafted even before this news. He's going off the board on Underdog as the RB14 and it has always felt like it was going to be a "when" situation, not "if" when talking about Hampton becoming the RB1 in this backfield. This is going to be the run-heavy Greg Roman offense we all know, but if Harris' injury creates more opportunities for Hampton during training camp it might happen sooner than expected.

Williams Bolts For Retirement

Chargers (Part II): On another note, Chargers wide receiver Mike Williams has retired from the NFL. He was placed on the PUP list earlier this week with a minor injury he suffered in the spring and it was reported by ESPN that the retirement comes "as a shock to the organization." The WR2 job has been up for grabs and rookie Tre Harris is now reporting to camp after signing his rookie contract.

Browns RB Arrested

Quinshon Judkins was arrested last Saturday morning and charged with misdemeanor battery and domestic violence against his girlfriend. Yes, this does impact upcoming drafts for the 2025 fantasy season, but just remember when tweeting, talking, or breaking down this situation that fantasy football isn't the most important thing going on here.

Browns beat writer Mary Kay Cabot has reported that the Browns "are in no rush to sign Quinshon Judkins to his rookie contract or get him to camp on time.” The team has also reportedly told Judkins and his agent that he must make his domestic incident "the high priority over football.”

We'll need to continue monitoring this situation.

Jets WR Takes Flight With New Contract

Garrett Wilson got PAID, but what are his 2025 expectations?

On Wednesday, the New York Jets and wide receiver Garrett Wilson reached agreement on a four-year, $130 million contract extension, making him one of the highest-paid receivers in the NFL.

According to ESPN, Wilson's average pay per year in his new deal with the Jets is fifth highest among all NFL receivers:

Wilson in fantasy, though, has never really given us those boom seasons. He has finished as the WR30, WR32, and WR20 (last season) in PPR points per game. With Justin Fields now as the new QB1, could we finally see a bigger season from Wilson? Unfortunately, no one is going to confuse Fields with a prolific passer, but we can look back at what Fields was able to do with then-teammate DJ Moore in 2023. Moore was able to lock down a WR9 fantasy finish, so we know Fields is capable of supporting a high-end fantasy player.

Still, the projections don't paint the prettiest picture for Wilson. Here's what Fantasy Life projects him for in 2025:

128.5 targets
78.5 receptions
921.5 receiving yards
5.1 receiving touchdowns

I'm not completely out on Wilson in fantasy, but his WR16 price tag is higher than I thought it would be—especially considering this might be one of the NFL's least-productive passing game.

Players Mentioned in this Article

RasheeRice
WRKC
PPG
19.10