Ray Rice can read the writing on the wall.
The running back hasn't appeared in the NFL since the Ravens cut him in 2014 in the midst of an incident that rocked the league. Video surfaced showing Rice striking his then-fiancee and now wife Janay Rice in an elevator, knocking her out.
Rice has apologized for the the incident and was arrested for it, but NFL teams haven't given him a second chance. The league may be black balling the former Super Bowl champion, especially since Roger Goodell and the NFL embarrassed itself by giving him a very mild punishment before the video surfaced.
With the years going by and no teams signing him ahead of training camp in two weeks, Rice realizes he could be running out of time to resurrect his NFL career.
"I'm training, but I'm more training for life," Rice told NJ.com. "I think it's safe to say that football ... I don't want to ever say I'm giving up, because that's never going to be me ... I'm happy. I'm in the best shape of my life, and I know if it doesn't happen this year, it's probably something I have to deal with. But you know what? It's not the end of my life.
"I know that the window for playing is closing. But if my window closes, I'm going to make sure I open up a thousand more opportunities for kids, to give them an opportunity to pick up where I left off. That's where I'm at. I've got three Pro Bowls and a Super Bowl. There's a lot of people that can't go out there and do what I did. But I don't want it to end that way, it's safe to say."
Rice, 29, was drafted in Round 2 of the 2008 NFL Draft by the Ravens out of Rutgers. In 92 career NFL games (80 starts), Rice has 1,430 carries for 6,180 yards with 37 touchdowns. In his final season in 2013, the three-time Pro Bowler had 214 carries for 660 yards and four scores in 15 games.
The former running back said he doesn't understand why he wasn't given a second chance, but football will always be a part of him.
"It's safe to say football is going to be part of my life," Rice said, "from now until I'm old and gray."
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