NALBANDIAN, Circuit Judge. A Michigan jury convicted Dorreon McBride of murder. After unsuccessfully contesting his conviction in state court, he sought federal habeas relief. But because he failed to exhaust one of his claims in state court, the district court dismissed his petition without prejudice. Rather than return to state court to litigate his unexhausted claim or refile in federal court without the unexhausted claim, McBride moved to reconsider. In doing so, he cited for the first time the Supreme Court’s decision in Rhines v. Weber, which gives courts facing habeas petitions with both exhausted and unexhausted claims two options besides dismissal. The district court denied his motion. McBride now argues that the district court should have sua sponte considered alternatives to dismissal. We disagree and AFFIRM the district court’s judgment.