The Patriots already have demonstrated their distaste for Ray Rice when the opportunity arose to replace running back Dion Lewis. But New England's flirtation with retired running back Steven Jackson may be telling Rice to start thinking about his life without returning to the NFL
Patriots coach Bill Belichick did an impersonation of "Seinfeld" character George Costanza when asked about reports that Jackson had visited with the team about a possible return to the NFL, according to ESPN.
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"Let's just end on a high note," Belichick said, walking away from the podium, electing not to answer that part of the question about the Jackson revelation, ESPN reported.
It was ESPN's Ed Werder who first reported the Jackson-New England possibility.
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The 32-year-old Jackson is an 11-year NFL veteran with 2,743 career carries and 460 career receptions -- the bulk of his production coming in his first nine years in the league with the Rams. Jackson averaged 3.5 yards and 3.7 yards per carry the last two seasons, respectively, for the Falcons. He has averaged 1,368 yards from scrimmage during his NFL career.
The 28-year-old Rice is a six-year veteran with 1,430 career carries and 369 career receptions. He averaged 3.1 yards per carry in 2013. Rice has averaged 1,535 yards from scrimmage during his career.
Multiple teams, from contenders to non-contenders, have had ample opportunities to bring in Rice for a tryout, but they all must consider Rice still too toxic to be around their organizations. It's coming up on two years since the punch he threw to knock out future wife Janay in an Atlantic City casino elevator appeared on TMZ's website.
Rice arguably has performed better than 95 percent of the backs getting signed as replacements for injured starters. It's mind-boggling to think the Cowboys have put up with the Greg Hardy situation (Hardy was found guilty of domestic abuse) for months, but other teams won't let Rice again denounce his actions, advocate for victims of domestic abuse and try to make his situation right.
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