Ray Rice's career-low 660 rushing yards wasn't due to his lack of explosiveness, his trainer said Thursday.
Kyle Jakobe, Rice's personal trainer, appeared on 105.7 The Fan radio show in Baltimore and said Rice was dealing with a hip injury that was more serious than he led on, as reported by baltimore.cbslocal.com.
The injury was the result of the wear and tear on Rice's body as the Ravens' primary ball-carrier.
"He came off the season definitely a little bit beat up," Jakobe said of Rice. "I think his hip was bothering him more than he led on to people just because in his heart, that guy is such a tough dude that he never really wanted to blame anything on his body. But when he walked in, I'm used to seeing him move a certain way, we both kind of knew immediately this isn't where he's been in the past and where he's most comfortable with his body.
"But where he is now and where he's progressed to, I mean he's flying right now. He's cutting on a dime. His top speed is as good as it's ever been. He has no issues with his legs. He's in best shape, best condition, and overall peak athletic performance."
The Ravens had said that Rice had bulked up to 225 pounds last season, which made him less explosive than he had been in previous years. He has lost 15 pounds, which suggests that Jakobe also thought he was too heavy.
But the hip was a factor as well.
"When he came to work out, it wasn't he was ready to tear it up," Jakobe said. "First month, we retaught him how to run coming off an injury, making sure he was doing full range motion exercises."
News of Rice's recovered speed and quickness normally would be met with a lot of excitement. This season, Rice's football news has taken a backseat to his physical altercation with fiancée Janay Palmer at an Atlantic City casino, in which video footage of what appeared to be him dragging an unconscious Palmer out of an elevator.
Rice and Palmer agreed to couples therapy, and no news has been reported since.
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