KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Chiefs and coach Andy Reid won’t say much publicly about wide receiver Rashee Rice and the eight charges he faces from his role in a car crash last month.

That’s as expected, though a hint of condemnation is a relatively low bar to clear — the case is ongoing, sure, but Rice did admit to police he was driving one of the cars racing down a Dallas freeway that caused a multi-vehicle crash, his lawyer said. And we can all agree that’s without justification, right?

Alas.

But after taking several questions on the subject, Reid did provide one update: Rice is currently with the team. That’s not merely noting that he is still on the roster — nothing is changing there, if we’ve been paying attention to the Chiefs’ playbook — but also that Rice is actively participating in the initial phase of the team’s offseason programming, which is being held virtually this week. In other words, Rice is taking part in some Zoom calls with his coaches.

That might be more than a bit startling, given that Rice is out on bond while facing eight charges, two of them felonies. According to an arrest affidavit, he drove a Lamborghini SUV 119 miles per hour down a well-trafficked expressway and caused a chain-reaction crash that injured eight people, including a 3-year-old and a 4-year-old.

But let’s be clear: Rice is not escaping this without punishment — legally, financially or professionally. On the former, we’ve mentioned the eight charges. On the finances, he’s already up against multiple lawsuits, including a $10 million suit filed last week.

And on the latter, the NFL will have its say.

The consequences are coming, even if not immediately. So while Rice is a participant today, his future participation is not entirely up to the Chiefs.

Before I move on to that, let me just underscore there is no conversation more important than the one we’ve had already — the consequences of what Rice is facing for his alleged actions and the consequences of the actions themselves. Full transparency: I debated whether it’s suitable to participate in the discussion about the football effects.

But for the Chiefs, that is a one-sided debate. They have to participate in that discussion. The NFL schedule, a week shy of the draft, demands they analyze the part within their control:

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