Ravens’ Ray Rice says retiring at 30 is possible
By Mike Dyce
The Baltimore Ravens have a solid running back in Ray Rice, who is in the sixth season of his career. After his rookie season he had five straight 1,000 yard seasons, a streak that looks like it will end this year.
Rice was on a conference call with media ahead of Sunday’s match up against the New England Patriots and talked about the future of his career. He hinted that he could consider retiring when he hits his 30th birthday.
“It’s always something to think about at the running back position,” Rice said, via Tom Curran of CSNNE.com. “I’ll just put it out there — my goal was to make it 10 years in the NFL. Anything after 10, if I can’t do it the way I want to, then it’s something to think about. But, I’m young. I came in the NFL at 21 years old, a young guy. So, I’m still young; I’m only going to be 27 in January. So, there’s a lot of football left to be played. With that being said, I have priorities too. You know I have a young daughter, and you’ve just got to put all that in perspective when you’re going out there week-in and week-out, especially when you get older in your career.”
It is unusual to hear a 26-year-old professional athlete talk about retiring, but with all the concussion issues and the shelf life of a back after 30 it might be something worth considering.