Ray Rice would be 'grateful' if Patriots gave him a chance

By Steve DelVecchio

An NFL team lost a running back to injury over the weekend, and fans are already posing the same question we hear every time a backfield vacancy opens up — what about Ray Rice?

New England Patriots running back Dion Lewis will reportedly miss the remainder of the season after tearing his ACL in Sunday’s win over the Washington Redskins. The speculation about Rice, who is still a free agent, began almost immediately. Not surprisingly, the former Baltimore Ravens star did not rule it out.

While anything is possible, it’s highly unlikely that the Patriots would sign Rice. When you hear the name Ray Rice, you immediately think about that disturbing video that showed him knocking his then-fiancee unconscious in an elevator. No one should ever forget about that, but let’s also remember that Rice will turn 29 in January and was showing signs of regressing before he became persona non grata in the NFL. He averaged just 3.1 yards per carry on 214 attempts in 2013, which was his last full season.

As for the Patriots, consider this:

Rice simply isn’t worth the PR nightmare for any team.

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