NFL: 5 players facing make-or-break seasons

Ray Rice

It goes without saying that it has been a very…. uh… err…. interesting offseason for Ray Rice. Let me preface by saying this: I’m partial. I love Ray Rice. He’s a great player, great guy (he always has been to me), and I’ll stand by him until the end. That said, I don’t know that the Ravens will. The seventh-year Raven is under contract until 2016, but the road is narrowing in front of him – and yet there is still certainly a very clear road to recovery.

Rice is a quirky back. He’s tough for his size, making him a very forceful runner. However, he is also very elusive. He may not be the fastest out of the backfield, but no one seems to catch him in open space. This play pretty much sums up Rice:

Now to the not so fun part: running backs have become so interchangeable in the NFL, that no matter how talented, a seven-year running back, in legal trouble, whose production has decreased may be hard to justify keeping around. Rice ended his streak of four straight 1000+ yards season last year, only gaining 660 yards. Excluding his rookie year, he had less receiving/rushing yards, as well as touchdowns. He did miss a game to injury, and dealt with hamstring issues throughout the year – but you get the point; he is due for a rebound year. The Ravens offense needs it, Rice’s career needs it, my fantasy team needs it.

Not to mention the fact Rice may have to miss games per suspension.