Should The Ravens Cut Ray Rice?

Ray Rice is in a lot of trouble off the field. He could be in some trouble on the field this offseason, too.

By that, I mean he could be a man without a field if the Ravens should decide to part ways with the recently-beleaguered running back. His off-the-field concerns stem from this incident between Rice and his fiancee recently at an Atlantic City hotel.

The period between the Super Bowl and the start of free agency is typically the quietest in the NFL. At least when it comes to football-related news.

More often than not, though, NFL players find themselves in the news during this slow period. For the wrong reasons.

Rice now joins the likes of Darren Sharper and Richie Incognito on the list of NFL players making news so far this offseason. It’s not a pretty list when you consider the offenders: Sharper, an alleged sexual predator and Incognito, the Dolphins’ resident team bully.

And now Rice. Which begs the question: Should the Ravens cut and run from Rice?

I will be shocked if #Ravens cut Ray Rice. Not happening. But I guess this is arrest season. Got to talk about something.

— Josh Moore (@4for4_Josh)

February 20, 2014

Football still is a business at the end of the day. Rice also is innocent until proven guilty, at least by the standards of our justice system. In the court of public opinion, though, Rice already seems pretty guilty.

The Ravens are well within their rights to do with Rice as they please, whether it be to retain his services or jettison them.

Strictly from a football perspective, however, should the Ravens keep him? Ignoring this off-the-field incident, there are other reasons the Ravens could part ways with Rice this offseason:

1. Bernard Pierce.

The heir-apparent to Rice averaged less than three yards-per-carry last year, but Rice managed only 3.1. Pierce is young (23) with more tread on the tires, passes the eye test of being a capable carry-the-load running back, and much lighter on the Ravens’ checkbook.

2. Declining Production.

Rice’s yards-per-carry the last three seasons: 4.7, 4.4, 3.1. That’s a precipitous drop, which cannot all be attributed to Rice. The Ravens’ offensive line, coaching and play-calling all play factors in that production. Still, 2014 will be Rice’s seventh year in the league. He’s had more than 270 touches each of the last six seasons, and he’ll be 28 at the end of next season. A few running backs — Curtis Martin comes to mind — continued producing at a high level into their 30s. Will Rice be an exception to the law of diminishing returns for running backs, or just another contributing statistic?

3. The Image Driven NFL.

Roger Goodell’s NFL is an image-driven league, at least that’s the projection he wants you, the fan, to believe. Rice is another black eye to the effort of restoring some kind of morality to the league. Despite Goodell’s efforting, though, the NFL still is all about the dollar signs. If the Ravens did cut Rice for “image” concerns, his would be the first case of morality > money in today’s NFL — at least among high profile players. If Rice were lower profile, he might already be off the roster.

Rice only counts $4 million toward the salary cap in 2014. That’s not a hefty price to pay to play the wait-and-see game as Rice’s legal proceedings play out.

I believe it was Hall of Famer Jim Finks who once said that cutting a  player 1-2 years before you should was the hardest thing to do as a  general manager. Rice, approaching 30-years-old, may fall within that spectrum.

But because the NFL is a business, I expect the Ravens to retain the rights to Rice throughout this process. But do you think they should?