Sidney Rice
Encyclopedia
Minnesota Vikings
Rice was drafted in the 2nd round (44th overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft2007 NFL Draft
The 2007 National Football League Draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 28 and April 29, 2007. The draft was televised for the 28th consecutive year on ESPN and ESPN2. The NFL Network also broadcast coverage of the event, its second year doing so...
by the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
. He signed a four year contract with the Vikings in 2007.
Rice caught his first touchdown pass on September 30, 2007 playing against the Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
. In week 15, against the Bears, Rice injured his knee, causing him to miss the final two games.
Rice finished his rookie season with 31 receptions for 396 yards and four touchdowns (second most receiving touchdowns by a 2007 rookie). He also completed two passes including a 79 yard pass, the longest for a non-quarterback in Vikings history.
The next season, Rice was named a starter with the Vikings new acquisition Bernard Berrian
Bernard Berrian
Bernard Berrian is a free agent American football wide receiver who last played for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the Chicago Bears in the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft...
. He got off to a pretty good start scoring a 23 yard touchdown in week one against the Packers. However, Rice suffered a knee injury that kept him out until week 9. When he returned, most of his playing time was when the Vikings were in the red zone as he would lose his starting job to Bobby Wade
Bobby Wade
Robert Louis Wade, Jr. is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the fifth round of the 2003 NFL Draft...
. Rice finished the 2008 season with 15 catches for 141 yards and 4 touchdowns (third most receiving touchdowns by a 2008 second year player).
2009 Pro Bowl season
In 2009, Rice had the most successful and stellar season of his career. Rice won his starting job back, and showed chemistry with new quarterback Brett FavreBrett Favre
Brett Lorenzo Favre is a former American football quarterback who spent the majority of his career with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . He was a 20-year veteran of the NFL, having played quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons , Green Bay Packers , New York Jets and Minnesota...
, who also had the best season of his career. He had a 176 yard game against the Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...
, and finished the game with 6 catches for 176 yards. The next week in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
, Rice had a career-high 10 catches for 136 yards. In Week 10 against the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
, Rice broke his 176 yard mark, with a 7 catch, 201 yard performance against the Lions. On November 18, 2009 Rice was named the NFC
National Football Conference
The National Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the American Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL.-Current teams:Since 2002, the NFC has comprised 16 teams,...
Offensive Player of the Week, the first time he has received that award. Also, during the same year, he was selected to his first Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
.
In Week 17 of the 2009 NFL season, Rice caught 6 receptions for 112 yards, along with 2 touchdowns. This helped to complete a 44-7 rout of the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and help the Vikings to a 12-4 regular season record. This was enough for them to secure the 2nd seed in the NFC Playoffs.
Coming off a bye-week in the first round of the playoffs, Rice and the Vikings played host to the NFC East
NFC East
The NFC East is a division of the National Football League's National Football Conference. It currently has four members: the Philadelphia Eagles, the New York Giants, the Dallas Cowboys, and Washington Redskins....
champions Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
in the NFC Divisional Playoffs at the Metrodome
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, commonly called the Metrodome, is a domed sports stadium in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Opened in 1982, it replaced Metropolitan Stadium, which was on the current site of the Mall of America in Bloomington and Memorial Stadium on the University...
. Rice played exceptionally well against the Cowboys, catching 6 throws from Brett Favre
Brett Favre
Brett Lorenzo Favre is a former American football quarterback who spent the majority of his career with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . He was a 20-year veteran of the NFL, having played quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons , Green Bay Packers , New York Jets and Minnesota...
for 141 yards and 3 touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
s, with a long of 47 yards. The next week in the NFC Championship Game, The Saints defense held Rice down to where he wasn't a big threat and they would later lose in overtime 28-31.
Hip surgery and 2010 season
Rice suffered a hip injury in the 2009-10 season's NFC championship game against the Saints. He was supposed have surgery in the off-season during the spring to repair it. He did not go through with it during the off-season fearing its effect on his performance. On Monday August 23, 2010, three weeks into the next season's training camp, he decided to go through with the surgery and was unable to play with the Vikings until November. Rice underwent a "pick" procedure similar to microfracture knee surgery to repair joint cartilage damage. Doctors poked holes in the hip bone, making it bleed to generate cells that would reconstitute themselves as replacement fibrocartilage to fill the damaged gap. To compensate the Vikings signed free agent wide receiver Javon WalkerJavon Walker
Javon Lataff Walker is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers 20th overall of the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at Florida State....
, whom Brett Favre played with in Green Bay, as well as trade for Greg Camarillo
Greg Camarillo
Greg Camarillo is an American football wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League.He played college football at Stanford. He was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2005....
, formerly of the Miami Dolphins. The Vikings also traded for Randy Moss
Randy Moss
Randy Gene Moss is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the 1998 NFL Draft...
from New England, whom they released after four games. Sidney Rice was activated from the physically unable to perform (PUP) list and made his 2010 season debut on November 21 against the Green Bay Packers in the Metrodome with 3 catches for 56 yards. Rice went on to have a major role in the Vikings' late-season victories over the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
before sustaining a concussion during the Eagles game. This left him unable to play in the season finale, a loss against the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
. The Vikings did not re-sign Rice for the 2011 season, having used their franchise tag on linebacker Chad Greenway.
Seattle Seahawks (2011–present)
After the lifting of the NFL lockout, Rice agreed to terms on a five-year, $43 million contract with the Seattle SeahawksSeattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
. This contract guarantees Rice $18 million over its duration. He was reunited in Seattle with offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell
Darrell Bevell
Darrell Bevell is the current Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator and former University of Wisconsin–Madison four-year starting quarterback....
and quarterback Tarvaris Jackson
Tarvaris Jackson
Tarvaris DeAndre Jackson is an American football quarterback who is currently a member of the Seattle Seahawks. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft...
both members of the Vikings during Rice's tenure there.
Rice was placed on injured reserve
Injured reserve
The injured reserve list is a list of reserved players who are injured and unable to play for a period of time, used most prominently in the National Hockey League and National Football League . It is used because these leagues have a maximum number of players on the team roster, so placing a...
on November 30, 2011.
Career receiving statistics
| Year | Team | Games | Rec | Yards | Y/R | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 2007 NFL season The 2007 NFL season was the 88th regular season of the National Football League.Regular-season play was held from September 6 to December 30.... |
Minnesota Vikings Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960... |
13 | 31 | 396 | 12.8 | 4 |
| 2008 2008 NFL season The 2008 NFL season was the 89th regular season of the National Football League, themed with the slogan "Believe in Now."Super Bowl XLIII, the league's championship game, was at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on February 1, 2009, with the Pittsburgh Steelers coming out victorious over the... |
Minnesota Vikings | 13 | 15 | 141 | 9.4 | 4 |
| 2009 2009 NFL season The 2009 NFL season was the 90th regular season of the National Football League.The preseason started with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on August 9, 2009, and the regular season began September 10. The season ended with Super Bowl XLIV, the league's championship game, on February 7, 2010 at... |
Minnesota Vikings | 16 | 83 | 1,312 | 15.8 | 8 |
| 2010 2010 NFL season The 2010 NFL season was the 91st regular season of the National Football League.The regular season began with the NFL Kickoff game on NBC on Thursday, September 9, at the Louisiana Superdome as the New Orleans Saints, Super Bowl XLIV champions, defeated the Minnesota Vikings 14–9.Tom Brady,... |
Minnesota Vikings | 6 | 17 | 280 | 16.5 | 2 |
| Total | - | 48 | 146 | 2,129 | 14.6 | 18 |