Ray Rice has not given up on an NFL career, and there may just be an opening with the Jets, presenting a perfect opportunity for redemption.
Rice has not played since 2013, when he had the worst season of his career. He was suspended for all of 2014 because of his involvement in the NFL’s highest-profile case of domestic violence, and could not find work in 2015, largely because of the public relations hit teams would take.
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Jets GM Mike McCagnan recently went on WFAN’s “Boomer and Carton” morning show and didn’t entirely shut the door on bringing Rice aboard in 2016.
“I think we’ve talked about that at various points in time,” Maccagnan said (via NJ.com). “I would probably say that that would be one that I would probably have to sit down and talk with Todd [Bowles, the Jets’ head coach] and Woody [Johnson, the Jets’ owner]. But I don’t foresee that at this point in time.”
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There doesn’t look to be an immediate opportunity for Rice with the Jets, who have Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell on the roster already, but there appear to be seeds of discontent sprouting from Ivory, who was underused in the Jets’ Week 17 loss to the Bills that excluded them from the playoffs.
“I was still a little shaky, but I’m a strong man,” Ivory told Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post. “I know how to play with pain. I was in a little pain, but I could have played more.”
If the situation with Ivory deteriorates, Rice would have a chance to make a difference on the Jets, who are always trying to establish the run. Rice’s 2013 was a mess, but he should be fresh after a two-year layoff, and he’s only 29 years old. He is also still a beloved figure in New Jersey, where he lives and starred at Rutgers.
He has a support system and fan base in the New York/New Jersey area that isn’t available to him in other places, and that’s why the Jets make sense for him to make his return. And if Ivory remains, Rice would be veteran depth at a very cost-effective price tag.
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