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Seahawks Release Rice, NFL Great's Future in Doubt
After finishing the 2004 season with Seattle, Jerry Rice would still like to test free agency.
Jerry Rice was the third receiver taken in the 1985 draft behind Eddie Brown and Al Toon, who have both been out of the NFL for more than a decade.
Rice may finally be joining them in retirement.
Rice was released by the Seattle Seahawks on Friday, perhaps signaling an end to the career of the greatest receiver in NFL history.
The release was requested by Rice and announced in a short statement from the team, which acquired the 42-year-old Rice from Oakland at the trade deadline last season.
"We are grateful to Jerry and the role he was willing to fill for the Seahawks last year," coach Mike Holmgren said. "He is one of the greatest players in the history of our game and we wish him nothing but the best."
Toon had a solid career with the New York Jets cut short, retiring after the 1992 season due to numerous concussions. Brown was the offensive rookie of the year in 1985, but also succumbed to injuries and retired following the 1991 season.
Neither can compare with Rice.
He was taken with the 16th pick by the San Francisco 49ers, who traded up to acquire the talented receiver from Division I-AA Mississippi Valley State. Few could have expected Rice would rewrite the NFL record books.
Rice is the career leader in receptions with 1,549; total yards with 22,895; and touchdowns receiving with 197, all far ahead of the closest pursuer. He also leads in total touchdowns with 207, 32 more than Emmitt Smith, who announced his retirement earlier this month.
Rice indicated after the Seahawks were eliminated by St. Louis in the playoffs last month that he still was interested in playing.
"I still feel like I have football left in me, a lot of football in me," he said.
But is there a team who might be interested in signing a 42-year-old who won three Super Bowl titles with the 49ers and was the Super Bowl MVP in 1989.
"He's going to evaluate the landscape over the next several months," said his agent, Jim Steiner. "I think the fire still burns for him."
In recent years, Rice's numbers significantly decreased.
Rice was released by San Francisco after the 2000 season as Terrell Owens developed into the 49ers' main receiving threat. Rice moved across San Francisco Bay and signed with the Oakland Raiders.
In 2002, Rice had 92 catches for 1,211 yards and seven touchdowns in helping the Raiders reach the Super Bowl.
But Rice began getting phased out of the Raiders' offense in 2003, catching just 63 passes and two TDs. This past season, Rice had only five catches with the Raiders before being traded to Seattle.
In Seattle he was reunited with Holmgren, who was San Francisco's offensive coordinator during some of his best years.
Last season, Rice had 30 catches for 429 yards, by far the lowest totals of his 20-year career other than in 1997, when he missed most of the season with a knee injury. His three touchdown receptions last season and two in 2003 were the lowest of his career for any full season other than his rookie year, when he also had three.
Rice's best game for Seattle came in a 43-39 loss to Dallas on Dec. 6. Rice had eight catches for 145 yards and a touchdown.
Steiner said Rice knew he was being brought to Seattle for a one-time shot at a deep playoff run.
"He was brought in on a one-year basis to make the run this year," Steiner said. "He understands the situation and felt this was the right thing to do."
Rice's possible return to San Francisco has been a hot topic in the Bay Area, but new 49ers coach Mike Nolan has mostly discouraged such speculation. Earlier this week, Nolan acknowledged the club discussed signing Rice so he could retire with San Francisco, but Nolan doesn't believe Rice would be able to play regularly with the Niners.
"It's my understanding in our discussions that Jerry still wants to test the market and see if someone is interested in having him on the team as a full-time participant," Nolan said Tuesday. "If he wants to retire (with the 49ers), that is certainly something that we would be very open to, but it's my understanding that those aren't his desires."
Among the other records he holds is receptions in 274 straight games, a streak that ended last season while he was still with the Raiders.
Source: AP