Ray Rice speaks and plays the sympathy card

NFL free agent running back Ray Rice opens up to the media while angling for a little sympathy from fans and organizations around the league.

The tough thing for guys in Ray Rice’s situation is how to maneuver their way down the comeback road.

The negative publicity surrounding Rice right now is career threatening. It is exactly what the player needs to campaign against for a long time after that initial ugly incident.

However, the campaign is a necessity if Rice wants to make his way back into the good graces of at least one of the 32 NFL franchises.

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Rice recently explained to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun how terrible a year it was for him last year.

“The big picture of it all, being the person that I am, I really felt horrible,” Rice said in a recent hourlong interview. “You almost want to punish yourself. I know I’m never going to win the battle of public opinion. Honestly, I almost felt like at one point that it wasn’t worth living. I see why people commit suicide.”

“It hurt that bad. I was low, real low. It hurt that bad because you worked your whole life to do all the right things and then you’re the world’s most hated person. It was really tough. My daughter, oh Lord, I grew up without a father, there’s no way I could check out on my own family.”

Rice has finally gotten to the healing stage of the attempted comeback process, and you bet you’ll hear a good amount from the former Baltimore Ravens running back in the coming weeks/months.

This sitdown with his former local media were only some comments of his very first long interview with the local Baltimore media.

It’s been about one year since the ugly incident of Rice knocking out his then-fiancee Janay Palmer in an Atlantic City hotel elevator.

Rice still maintains that his relationship with his now-wife, is stronger than ever.

Rice is no doubt being counseled wisely and saying all the right things. His past enemy, the media, will now be his best friend moving forward.

While many think there will be one team who takes on Rice for at least a training camp invite this coming summer (as it always only takes one), there are many factors working against him.

The very nature of the position he plays severely hurts his chances.

Running back is a “plug in” position. More often than not the offensive line is the reason for an offense’s success or failures in the running game. That idea has gone so viral that the position is a revolving door of talent from team to team, year by year.

It’s also a young man’s position, and with Rice getting up there in age, 28, teams would consider that a big issue.

Only time will tell if a team things Rice is worth the media headache.

H/T Pro Football Talk

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