Former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice is appealing his indefinite suspension and if that decision is overturned, the star RB could be back on the free agent market and teams like the Oakland Raiders, Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings and others could be interesting in him, even with the horrible PR that would come with it.
According to ESPN.com, Rice is appealing his suspension based on the grounds that the video from TMZ was edited and also that the NFL is punishing twice for the same act. Rice did not get any jail time or any real punishment for the savage knockout of his wife and now he is trying to find his way back to the league. The Ravens are in hot water over an OTL story that they tried to bury the tape and the whole incident and pleaded for leniency on Rice and so far it looks like those allegations are true.
ESPN.com reported that Rice will be appealing his suspension and while the NFLPA has not finalized the basis of that appeal, it likely will have to do with the CBA. According to Pro Football Talk, the CBA does not allow punishment to come down twice for the same offense and Rice likely will argue that he was hit with an indefinite suspension only because of the PR backlash of the video being released and not his initial act. The NFL likely will argue that Rice was untruthful to them about what happened, but that poses other problems for the league.
Since Rice was released and suspended many have wondered whether he would have a future in the NFL due to his age and what happened with his wife. According to Cole and others in the league, teams have already started doing background work on Rice and they are keeping tabs on the situation leading into the middle of the season. Cole said that some teams may consider making a move later in the year if he is reinstated, as many still see him as an elite running back.
Rice was first suspended two games after a long period between his incident and Goodell meting out punishment and that only inflamed people more when they saw how small the penalty was. Many speculated Goodell went easy on Rice so he could also go easy on Jim Irsay, but now that whole line of thought is out the window with the release of the TMZ video. The NFL claims that Rice was not totally honest about what happened the night he punched the lights out of his fiancé and the appeal's success likely will hinge on that.
Rice was an elite back in the NFL, but he is not one anymore and that was clear last season when he had the worst statistical year of his career apart from his rookie season. Rice had been over 1000 yards in each of his first four seasons after being a rookie, but in 2013 he ended up with just 660 yards and averaged 3.1 yards per carry. The season before that he had 1143 yards rushing with nine touchdowns to go along with 61 receptions for another 478 yards.
Rice came into this season expecting to play after two games, but then Revel casino closed and the video came out and that changed everything. His best season came in 2013 when he had a career best 1364 rushing yards along with 12 touchdowns and he also had 76 catches for 704 yards to make him a strong RB and one of the best in fantasy.