After a season in which he gained just 3.1 yards per carry and had just one rush of more than 20 yards, Ravens running back Ray Rice is reportedly slimming down.
Rice’s trainer, Kyle Jakobe, told Matt Zenitz of the Carroll County (Md.) Times that the running back was 225 pounds at season’s end. However, Rice was 210 pounds as of Friday, according to the Times.
“He was definitely too heavy last year,” Jakobe told the Times. “He definitely came back this year and said, ‘I feel heavy. I feel bloated. I don’t feel like I’m moving as well. I could feel it in my body. I felt like my body was working too hard to make the same movements it made in previous years.’”
Age would seem to be on Rice’s side as he tries to bounce back in 2014. He is only 27, and dropping a little weight can only help his quickness. However, he still faces the resolution of an assault charge stemming from an alleged altercation with his fiancee in February.