Ravens’ Ray Rice shows up to OTAs lighter at 205 lbs
By Mike Dyce
Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice had a rough 2013 season with hip and quadriceps injuries. The offseason afterwards didn’t get any better with a domestic dispute between him and his then-fiancee, that included a video of Rice dragging his seemingly unconscious fiancee out of an elevator.
“It’s a privilege playing in this league,” head coach John Harbaugh stated Thursday, via The Baltimore Sun. “Character is very important to us — discipline is a way of life. … I‘m very disappointed in some of the things that have gone on.”
“I’m disappointed in Ray no more than he is,” Harbaugh added. “I think the football field is a safe haven for him right now.”
With football activities picking up as the 2014 season, we’ll see if Rice can take advantage of that safe haven and return to top form. According to Aaron Wilson, Rice “looked a lot lighter, quicker than last year when he was 225 pounds” and said he “down to about 205.”
That is great news for the Ravens’ offense, but there still remains the lingering problem of a potential multi-game suspension. Even if he is in better shape there is the very real possibility that Rice misses multiple games this season.
“I’m assuming he will meet with the commissioner at some point in the near future and make a decision about what discipline, if any, is appropriate,” Ravens team president Dick Cass said earlier in the week, via the Baltimore Sun. “I’m not going to speculate. The commissioner is going to decide that. I’m going to leave it to the commissioner.”