NFL - King/Queen of the Hill Pool

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Great move by the Hawks!


Wide receiver Sidney Rice re-signs with Seattle Seahawks
Posted on April 16, 2014 | By Stephen Cohen


One day after he proclaimed himself ready to return from injury — and just hours after he reportedly met with the New York Jets — wide receiver Sidney Rice reportedly re-signed with the Seattle Seahawks on a one-year contract.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter broke the news via Twitter.

[Updated 6:30 p.m. The Seahawks confirmed Rice agreed to terms with the club.]

The #Seahawks have agreed to terms with @sidneyrice. http://t.co/KVvQPYQ8lL pic.twitter.com/bhEm3sXObf

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) April 17, 2014

After re-signing with the Seahawks, Sidney Rice will be catching passes from Russell Wilson again in 2014. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
After re-signing with the Seahawks, Sidney Rice will be catching passes from Russell Wilson again in 2014. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
Rice’s salary details remain unknown, though it’s likely he won’t see anywhere near the kind of money he commanded when he signed a five-year, $41 million free-agent deal with the Seahawks prior to the 2011 season.
Bringing back the former 2007 second-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings will provide Hawks quarterback Russell Wilson with a familiar target and reunite him with a popular teammate. Though Rice missed most of the Hawks’ 2013 championship season after suffering a torn ACL in Week 8, he was a consistent presence in the locker room all the way through Super Bowl XLVIII.

At 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, Rice will also give Seattle more size at the position. The only player on the current Seahawks roster with comparable measurements is unproven CFL import Chris Matthews (6-foot-5, 218 pounds). Presumed starters Doug Baldwin and Percy Harvin measure at only 5-foot-10 and 5-foot-11, respectively.

Wilson shared his reaction to Rice’s re-signing on Twitter:

YESSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!! @sidneyrice

— Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) April 17, 2014

The Hawks released Rice as a salary-cap casualty in late February, saving $7.3 million in the process. But there was almost immediate talk of bringing the veteran wideout back to Seattle, albeit at a reduced price.

After signing his huge deal in 2011 — one of the first under the reign of Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll and GM John Schneider — Rice missed 15 games due to injury over three years. In 2012, when Rice was able to play a full season for Seattle, he was the team’s leading receiver, accumulating 50 receptions for 748 yards and 7 touchdowns.

In seven NFL seasons, Rice has 243 catches for 3,592 yards and 30 touchdowns. His best season came in 2009 with Minnesota, when with Brett Farve at the trigger, Rice caught 83 passes for 1,312 yards and 8 scores and named to the NFC Pro Bowl squad.

After losing Rice and 2013's leading pass-catcher in Golden Tate, wide receiver had been viewed as a position of need leading into next month’s NFL draft and a distinct possibility for the Seahawks’ first pick. But re-signing Rice — coupled with a deep crop of incoming rookie receivers that could be available in the middle and late rounds — means the team may look elsewhere with the No. 32 pick.