ESPN had a head-scratching report on the first Sunday of the regular season regarding Ray Rice. Gone and largely forgotten for two years, there’s supposedly a “real belief that Ray Rice has a real chance” to get back into the NFL this season.
However real the chance is, it’s getting more real ever, especially after a Sunday that entailed a rash of running back injuries. From Adrian Peterson of the Vikings to Doug Martin of the Buccaneers to Ameer Abdullah of the Lions to Danny Woodhead of the Chargers to Jonathan Stewart of the Panthers to Thomas Rawls of the Seahawks to Arian Foster of the Dolphins to Rashad Jennings of the Giants, guys at the most physically demanding position on the field are getting banged up, which will bump up the list of potential free-agent additions guys like Rice.
Some teams will opt for a next-man-up approach, backfilling with young, cheap running backs who will play special teams. At some point, however, a team will decide to bring a new man in, and at some point that new man could be Rice.
If it doesn’t happen this year for Rice, it never will. Given the various running back injuries, it could happen this month.