On February 15, former Baltimore Ravens star running back Ray Rice knocked his wife — at that time fiancée – Janay Rice unconscious inside of a casino elevator in Atlantic City, N.J.
Four days following the incident, TMZ leaked a video of the once beloved running back dragging his wife out of an elevator. Initial reports stated that both of the two companions had physically attacked one another. That incident caused the NFL to hand Rice a two-game suspension from the NFL.
On September 8, TMZ released footage of Ray and Janay inside of the elevator, which confirmed that Ray was the only one to throw a punch, which debunked earlier claims that both parties partook in a physical skirmish. On that same day, the Ravens released Rice. Shortly thereafter, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Rice from the league indefinitely.
But Rice’s ban was not of great length – Goodell reinstated the former superstar running back on November 28, which means any NFL team currently has the opportunity to sign him. And on the short list of possible landing spots for Rice is Pittsburgh.
Over the past several years, the Pittsburgh Steelers have not cowered away from big-name players with off-the-field troubles.
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has experienced a myriad of off-the-field incidents. In the summer of 2006, he nearly died when he crashed his motorcycle whilst not wearing a helmet. In July 2009, a Lake Tahoe casino worker claimed she was raped by Roethlisberger in the summer of 2008, but the worker never filed charges. In March 2010, he was again accused of sexual assault – and once again – Roethlisberger was not charged. However, commissioner Goodell slapped Roethlisberger with a six-game suspension for the 2010 season, which was later reduced to four games.
Steelers outside linebacker James Harrison was involved in a domestic assault situation — which was similar to Rice’s case — on a day in March 2008. On that day, Harrison and his girlfriend engaged in a verbal fight, which prompted her to lock herself in a bedroom. Then, Harrison broke down the locked door, snapped his girlfriend’s phone in half and slapped her in the face.
After that ugly scene, the Steelers retained Harrison; the organization stated that Harrison owned up to his wrongdoings and learned from his actions. In a recent interview with NBC’s Matt Lauer, Rice stated that he accepted responsibility for his actions and is looking for a “second chance.”
It’s utterly evident that the Steelers grant second chances to superstar players. Perhaps, the team will give Rice his second chance — especially considering the Steelers are now lacking a bit of depth at the running back position.
After LeGarrette Blount walked out on the Steelers during their game against the Tennessee Titans in Week 11, the team cut him. The Steelers’ speedy rookie Dri Archer is now Le’Veon Bell’s back-up at running back. Besides Bell and Archer, Josh Harris — who is an undrafted rookie — is the remainder of Pittsburgh’s running back roster.
As of now, there is nobody talented enough to effectively share the load of carries with Bell, who is second in the league in rushing yards with 1,046. Bell has a total of 216 rushing attempts, placing him as third-highest in rushing attempts in the league. Bell ran the ball 671 times in his three years at Michigan State, which is a relatively high number. In the NFL, he has already ran the ball 460 times in his two seasons. His durability should concern the Steelers, but Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin doesn’t believe that the extra workload will be “overtaxing” for Bell.
Perhaps Tomlin should think back to the 2007 season when he proclaimed that he would roll with running back Willie Parker until his “wheels fall off.” Parker broke his leg that season and was never the same.
Rice ran for over 1,000 yards in four years of his six-year career in the NFL. Nevertheless, he is coming off the worst season of his career in 2013, yet he is still only 27 years old. Rice is capable of sharing some of the workload with Bell. The Steelers need Bell to be healthy if they are going to be a playoff team; the Steelers likely must sign another running back to their roster soon.
For the sake of their on-field performance and based off similar situations, the Steelers may need to pick up Rice.
*All stats from Pro Football Reference*
