Thread: Is Sidney Rice Damaged Goods?

I posted a tweet from Tom Pellisaro, ESPN 1500 yesterday in the Rice thread about cap space but the post got jumped.
The subject matter seems important enough to garner some discussion so I'll repost it here.

[quote]Based on my sources, Rice will be hard-pressed to get a big guarantee, and #Vikings are willing to compete with incentives/escalators.[quote]

Rice's talent isn't in question, but he's considered an injury risk after last year's hip surgery.

The player rep for free agent Sidney Rice tweeted Monday that his client is "in the best shape health-wise, ever."

But that same rep also said this about Sidney last summer.

The agent for Sidney Rice says the receiver has a lingering hip injury but should be ready when the Minnesota Vikings open the regular season against the New Orleans Saints.
Drew Rosenhaus tweeted the update on Thursday. Rosenhaus says Rice "does not anticipate that this injury will require surgery and he's hopeful that he will be fully healthy for the start of the season."

GM Rick Spielman insisted back in March that he will do "everything possible" to bring back Rice, who turned down a long-term offer before the lockout.

I find this interesting.

Viking OC Bill Musgrave did not mention free agent Sidney Rice when discussing his primary plans for the Minnesota offense.
Musgrave said the Vikings will "major in" getting the ball to Adrian Peterson, and has already designed plans to feature Percy Harvin. He even mentioned Visanthe Shiancoe by name. Perhaps Musgrave is playing it safe because Rice is unsigned, but he's already put the finishing touches on the Vikings' playbook,

So the plot thickens!

Also possible that since Rice isn't under contract with us, they can't talk about him.

Remember GOddell told Harbaugh he couldn't talk about Alex Smith, since he's not under contract. Same would probably apply with Rice.

I think that Rice does present a major injury risk simply due to his history of being injured. He was banged up in his second season, and missed most of last season...and with only 4 seasons to look at, that's a fairly significant period of time.

In fact, that's one of the reasons I haven't been very excited about possibly paying him "far too much money" to stay.

Rice could wind up being a great possession guy if he could only stay healthy....he just can't seem to manage it.

Caine

Of course he is a risk and I agree that unless a team like the Raiders steps in and overpays for him that he will get a heavily incentive laden contract. I also agree that the Vikings could be competitive in the market.

The real question is whether he wants to be a Vikings as badly as the team wants him to be a Viking.

Originally Posted by "Purple Floyd" #1099315

Of course he is a risk and I agree that unless a team like the Raiders steps in and overpays for him that he will get a heavily incentive laden contract. I also agree that the Vikings could be competitive in the market.

The real question is whether he wants to be a Vikings as badly as the team wants him to be a Viking.

I think that the answer to that is implied in his rejection of the Vikings long term deal offer and his desire to test free agency.

Caine

I don't think you can blame Rice for wanting to test the market, anyone in his situation would do the same. He simply wants the best deal he can get, and by shopping around he gets the leverage to achieve his goal. It's up to the Vikings to step up and get a deal done.

I think it's clear the Vikings want him and are willing to give him a decent offer. Sydney/agent may believe they can get more or it is at least worth trying to see if they can get more...can't blame them for that.

It also may be that he is not crazy about being on the Vikings next year, rather opting for a more established QB and passing offense.

Originally Posted by "PurpleTide" #1099336

I don't think you can blame Rice for wanting to test the market, anyone in his situation would do the same. He simply wants the best deal he can get, and by shopping around he gets the leverage to achieve his goal. It's up to the Vikings to step up and get a deal done.

I don't "blame" him for it, I simply think that by rejecting the offer he makes a statement. As tastywaves said above, Rice is essentially saying, "I'm worth more than what you offered", or he's saying, "I want to be on a better team".

Either way, his desire to be a "Viking" wasn't high enough for him to sign...

Caine

Originally Posted by "tastywaves" #1099338

I think it's clear the Vikings want him and are willing to give him a decent offer. Sydney/agent may believe they can get more or it is at least worth trying to see if they can get more...can't blame them for that.

It also may be that he is not crazy about being on the Vikings next year, rather opting for a more established QB and passing offense.

Very possible, get a 3/4 year on a team that is more established and line himself up for a huge paydeal after that, I bet Rosenwhore is pushing that aspect of his master plan for Sidney.

[quote="jargomcfargo" #1099301]I posted a tweet from Tom Pellisaro, ESPN 1500 yesterday in the Rice thread about cap space but the post got jumped.
The subject matter seems important enough to garner some discussion so I'll repost it here.

[quote]Based on my sources, Rice will be hard-pressed to get a big guarantee, and #Vikings are willing to compete with incentives/escalators.

Rice's talent isn't in question, but he's considered an injury risk after last year's hip surgery.

The player rep for free agent Sidney Rice tweeted Monday that his client is "in the best shape health-wise, ever."

But that same rep also said this about Sidney last summer.

The agent for Sidney Rice says the receiver has a lingering hip injury but should be ready when the Minnesota Vikings open the regular season against the New Orleans Saints.
Drew Rosenhaus tweeted the update on Thursday. Rosenhaus says Rice "does not anticipate that this injury will require surgery and he's hopeful that he will be fully healthy for the start of the season."

GM Rick Spielman insisted back in March that he will do "everything possible" to bring back Rice, who turned down a long-term offer before the lockout.

I find this interesting.

Viking OC Bill Musgrave did not mention free agent Sidney Rice when discussing his primary plans for the Minnesota offense.
Musgrave said the Vikings will "major in" getting the ball to Adrian Peterson, and has already designed plans to feature Percy Harvin. He even mentioned Visanthe Shiancoe by name. Perhaps Musgrave is playing it safe because Rice is unsigned, but he's already put the finishing touches on the Vikings' playbook,

So the plot thickens!

I thought Ponder already had the playbook and was passing it around to the veterans he was practicing with?