Ravens RB Ray Rice wasn’t the same dynamic, elusive, consistent playmaker that he had been during his first five seasons with the Ravens.
Rice strained his hip flexor in Week 2. He only missed one game. But his trainer, Kyle Jakobe, said Rice was still noticeably bothered by the hip when he showed up to begin his offseason workouts in early January.
“I don’t think a lot of people understand the magnitude of the injury that he was dealing with and how much pain he was actually in,” Jakobe said.
The other issue was Rice’s weight.
Rice has already dropped around 15 pounds in the last two months or so.
At just 26 years old, it was surprising to see Rice's production fall off the way it did, but he was dealing with hip and quad injuries throughout the season. He was also coming off of a Super Bowl run the previous year, which likely wore him down. GM Ozzie Newsome said he expects Rice to return to Pro Bowl form, but HC John Harbaugh said after the season that the team could take more of a committee approach at running back, which would limit Rice's upside. Still,he is a bounceback candidate in Gary Kubiak's offense, assuming his offseason legal issues don't impact his availability.
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