The Browns are lots of things. Boring is rarely one of them.
Just before the kickoff of their preseason opener Thursday night came an interesting quote about free agent running back Ray Rice from Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, via the Twitter account of ESPN reporter Bob Holtzman.
“I’d like to see him get another shot,” Haslam told Holtzman. Holtzman added that Haslam “tells me they want to see what team’s young RBs can do first.”
The team drafted the speedy Duke Johnson in the third round, but he’s done almost nothing in camp due to a hamstring injury. Isaiah Crowell and Terrance West are coming off rookie seasons that mixed promise with mediocre moments. Last weekend, Browns running backs coach Wilbert Montgomery told reporters he wanted to see someone hungry enough to win the job, which isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement.
Rice, presumably, is hungry after almost a year without a job. He’s said as much during a series of interviews designed to show he’s remorseful after he punched his wife and was cut by the Ravens when surveillance video of the incident turned up.
Earlier this week, Browns coach Mike Pettine told Sports Illustrated that the Browns have discussed Rice but “aren’t there yet.” Montgomery, who was Rice’s position coach for six years in Baltimore, is presumably at the center of those discussions. It’s a decision that Haslam would probably have to include Haslam’s permission, which makes his quote interesting.
Rice, 28, said in an ESPN interview earlier this month he considers himself a “rehabilitated man” and that he has tried to convey that to potentially interested teams.
“The conversations that I had with them is more to understand the magnitude of my situation,” Rice said. “I know that it’s a unique deal, so I just try to honestly live day-to-day and stay hopeful for that opportunity.”
Maybe the Browns will have further conversations. Maybe some team will beat them to it. But signing Rice wouldn’t just be a football decision, and that’s one reason his wait is likely to continue.