Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti gave disgraced running back Ray Rice his word that he would help Rice turn his life back around weeks after Baltimore released him in 2014.
Is now a good time to stay true to that word?
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While convicted domestic violence abuser Greg Hardy remains gainfully employed with the Cowboys, Rice remains an NFL pariah because of a video showing him punching his wife and knocking her unconscious.
The Ravens could remedy that injustice by re-signing Rice.
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When TMZ made the video public in September of 2014, Baltimore immediately released Rice, and the NFL suspended him indefinitely. A couple of weeks after his release, Rice exchanged texts with Bisciotti, and the conversation was a positive exchange between both parties, as Business Insider reported.
On Sept. 9, Bisciotti texted Rice, telling him that the Ravens would explore options on how to keep the running back close to the team.
Business Insider included a transcript:
Bisciotti: I just spent two hours talking to Ozzie. It was all about you. We love you and we will always figure out a way to keep you in our lives. When you are done with football I will hire you to help me raise Great young men. I still love you!!!
Rice: I know it's a rough time for all of us I love all of you and that will never change for life!
Bisciotti: I will help you make it a great life indeed. I give you my WORD(.)
The knock on Rice is that his last season in the league -- 2013, in which he struggled with 610 rushing yards --- was an indictment on his eroding skills.
The Ravens, however, know Rice better than any other team and know his character. They also know that Rice had bulked up that season to try to better absorb the punishment and had played much of 2013 with a hip injury.
Rice lost 15 pounds in 2014, and now he is a year and eight games removed from taking any punishment on the football field.
A sticking point might be coach John Harbaugh, who reportedly wanted to cut Rice immediately after the first video of Rice dragging his then-fiancée out of a casino elevator went public. But Harbaugh later denied that report, TMZ reported.
If all 31 other NFL teams consider Rice toxic, the Ravens, who benefited from four 1,000-yard seasons he produced for them, could be the team to help him resurrect his NFL career.
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