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Sidney Rice has a new team and it's the same as his old team. Rice tweeted on Wednesday that he's returning to Seattle and the team later confirmed the move. According to ProFootballTalk, the free agent wide receiver has agreed to a one-year deal.
Someone who's pretty excited about having Rice back is quarterback Russell Wilson.
YESSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!! @sidneyrice
— Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) April 17, 2014
Rice was released by the Seahawks in February in a cost-cutting move that cleared up $7.3 million in 2014 cap space for Seattle. The receiver's new deal with the Seahawks is worth up to $1.4 million, according to the Baltimore Sun. Rice will make $1 million in base salary, plus a $150,000 bonus. The injury-plagued Rice can also make up to $250,000 for being on the Seahawks active roster during the regular season.
The signing comes just two days after Rice was medically cleared from an ACL injury he suffered in October. The 27-year-old wide receiver was injured in a Week 8 win over the Rams. Before tearing his ACL, Rice was the Seahawks third leading receiver with 231 yards over the season's first seven weeks, trailing Doug Baldwin (372) and Golden Tate (439).
Tate's no longer in Seattle though, so Rice will return to a receiving corps that includes Baldwin and Percy Harvin, among others.
Moving forward with Harvin and Rice as two of the team's top three receivers could be risky for the Seahawks. The duo combined to miss a total of 23 games in 2013, with Harvin missing 15 and Rice missing eight. However, the risk could pay off because both receivers are productive when they're healthy.
Since his rookie year in 2007, Rice has only made it through an entire season twice (2009, 2012), but one of those was his most productive years. In 2009 with the Vikings, Rice was voted to the Pro Bowl after tallying 1,312 receiving yards, the fourth-highest total in the NFL that year. Harvin and Rice were teammates in Minnesota that year.
Rice agreed to the deal with Seattle on Wednesday while he was in New York. The wide receiver had been visiting with the Jets before deciding to stay with the Seahawks.
