Should the Atlanta Falcons take a chance on Ray Rice?
With several big named free agents still on the NFL market, should the Atlanta Falcons give one of them a second chance? Running back Ray Rice hasn’t played in the NFL since 2013 after being suspended for striking his then fiance and now wife in an elevator.
Rice did a terrible thing and the entire world got to watch from a video. Rice served his suspension and is now a free agent waiting for a team to accept him back. Should the Falcons be that team to do that? Atlanta hasn’t had a marquee running back since Michael Turner. Over the past three or so years, the Falcons’ running game has been non-existent and has made the offense very one-dimensional.
In 2015, the Falcons will have to rely on a rookie running back and a second-year running back. Tevin Coleman is very well-like among the organization as well as sophomore Devonta Freeman. However, to expect two very young backs with little to no NFL experience is a very tough task.
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Rice has proved himself as one of the top NFL running backs when he is playing. He has over 6,000 career rushing yards in his six seasons and can handle a heavy work load. Falcons’ coordinator Kyle Shanahan will be implementing a zone blocking scheme that will require a running back who can handle that type of load. Rice would be able to rush the ball 30 times a game with ease.
What is important to remember is that Rice has married the woman he struck since the reports had come out. He is still with her and hasn’t done anything out of the ordinary since. An anti-violence group called, A Call to Men recently reported that they believe Rice deserves a second chance.
Co-founders of the group, Tony Porter and Ted Bunch have interacted with Rice for the past nine months and have nothing but positive things to say about him.
“We have been around a lot of abusive men, but our experience with Ray has been tremendously positive,” Porter said. “We feel strongly about him having the opportunity of having a second chance. He’s deserving of it.”
A lot of people will never forgive Rice no matter what, and I don’t blame them. What Rice did was absolutely terrible, but I believe everyone in this world deserves a second chance. Rice appears to be a changed man and is ready to get back to the thing he loves, football.