Former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice has been reinstated after winning his appeal against the NFL's indefinite suspension and now he is free to sign with any team and clubs like the Detroit Lions, Indianapolis Colts, Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, Arizona Cardinals, New England Patriots and NY Jets are options, although a move right now is unlikely.
Rice was released by the Ravens and suspended indefinitely by the league, but that suspension was overturned by Judge Barbara Jones after Rice appealed. According to ESPN.com, Rice is now free to sign with any team after the suspension was overturned and that came after Jones ruled that the NFL did in fact punish Rice for the same thing twice, which is not allowed in the CBA. Rice and his wife Janay have been giving interviews and speaking about the night he punched her in the face and now he is hoping to move his career along.
Rice and the NFLPA released a statement about the decision and it's likely that now Roger Goodell will lose some of his decision making powers going forward. The judge ruled that Rice was being honest in his original meeting with the league in June and that went against what Goodell stated. Rice now can sign with any team, but many in the media have speculated that teams will likely wait until the offseason to make a move on the running back.
According to the Washington Post, five teams that could be interested in Rice potentially include the Detroit Lions, Indianapolis Colts, Buffalo Bills, Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots. The Lions are ranked near the bottom of the league in rushing this season and they have dealt with injuries to Reggie Bush and they may look at adding Rice as an option. Rice was not very good at all last season and had something to prove this year and now he is likely out of football shape and that could keep teams from signing him until the offseason.
People would be naive to think that Rice won't get signed and a team like the Bills could also been an option after they lost CJ Spiller for the season. The team is still in playoff position along with the Dolphins and they also could be an option after losing Knowshon Moreno earlier in the year. The Patriots signed LeGarrette Blount after losing Stevan Ridley and they also have Jonas Gray, but the Post writes that it wouldn't be surprising to see Bill Belichick make a move like that.
The Colts were one of the first teams to get mentioned in connection with Rice because they lost Ahmad Bradshaw to an injury, but so far there has been no indication of interest. The Cardinals have Andre Ellington, but they have not gotten much else, while the Colts have Trent Richardson and Dan Herron, but those two have not been as effective as Bradshaw was this season.
