The Baltimore Ravens won’t have running back Ray Rice when the season starts as he serves a two-game suspension for hitting his then fiancee. Many think that the punishment isn’t severe enough for the offense and that Rice got off easy.
For the Ravens it is good news and they won’t be without Rice for more than two games. When Rice does return to the line up he might have a big impact on the roster and reportedly has looked good in training camp.
From Baltimore Sun’s Ravens beat writer Mike Preston:
"Running back Ray Rice might have had his problems during the offseason, but he sure has looked good in training camp. He had two long runs Saturday where he looked like the Rice of old. He never had great speed, but his cuts were excellent."
Rice is coming off a down 2013 year when he rushed for 660 yards on 214 carries, the lowest yardage total of his career since his rookie season. It was the only season, aside from his rookie season, that he hasn’t rushed for over 1,000 yards, a streak that lasted four years.
Because of that down year it is hard to be overly optimistic heading into this season, but he did shed a lot of weight heading into training camp this year.