Former Ravens running back Ray Rice has his appeal this week and if the case against the NFL is successful, he could be reinstated soon and teams like the Oakland Raiders, Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles, San Diego Chargers, Miami Dolphins, Carolina Panthers, Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks could be potential options to sign the RB, even with his toxic past right behind him.
Rice has his appeal set for this week and many around the league and in the media feel that he will win that appeal. According to NFL.com writer Jason La Canfora, many around the league think that Rice has a strong case and it has nothing to do with the horrific details of what he did to his then fiancé in an elevator in Atlantic City. The NFL rules say a player cannot be disciplined twice for the same issue and the NFL looks like it did that here, as they suspended him indefinitely after the video came out of Rice striking his fiancé.
If Rice wins his appeal he could be reinstated and once that all happens, teams could sign him as a free agent. While some have speculated there is no place for Rice in the NFL now and that fans would be mad, others have pointed out that teams in need of an RB likely wouldn't hesitate to bring Rice in. Fans may turn the tide if their team needs a boost on offense and that would be typical of many fans who root for their teams with reckless abandon.
The Oakland Raiders, Chargers, Detroit Lions, NY Giants, Denver Broncos and Buffalo Bills are some of the worst rushing teams in the NFL this season and they could potentially be options. That's not to say those teams would sign Rice, but once he is a free agent again, teams will be able to sign him and while many think that won't happen, it likely is naïve to think that someone won't take a look at the RB. It would be a bad look for the NFL, but they have looked bad enough themselves through this entire situation.
The NFL looks ridiculous in most of this, because just like the Ravens, the league was fine with a two game suspension until the PR turned against them. The league now has put itself in hot water, because it's very likely that even if Roger Goodell did not see the video, the league knew exactly what was on it and then reacted to the public's reaction to the video. The NFL has no one to blame but themselves for this situation and they handled nearly every aspect of it with ineptitude.
The team literally supported him the entire way and bent over backwards to make sure everyone knew how great Rice was until it wasn't popular to do so anymore. The team may act like they weren't doing all they could to keep Rice in the fold, but until that video was made public, Rice was a hero, Rice was a good man who made a mistake and Rice was a player on the Ravens. Once the PR turned on the Ravens, the team ran away from Rice and they can't deny that.
