Ballerific Sports: Seattle Seahawks Sidney Rice Retires

ESPN reports, Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Sidney Rice is retiring at age 27 reportedly because of a history of concussions.

Rice spent the previous three seasons with Seattle Seahawks after playing the first four years of his NFL career with the Minnesota Vikings. He was a second-round draft pick out of South Carolina in 2007. His best season was 2009 when he made the Pro Bowl after catching 83 passes for 1,312 yards and eight touchdowns.

In a statement Rice said:

“After careful consideration and seven wonderful years playing in the National Football League, including the last three for the Seattle Seahawks, I have decided to retire from playing in the National Football League. I have enjoyed my experiences with all of my coaches, teammates and passionate Seahawks fans.”

“I take great pride in knowing I was one of the players signed to help build the foundation of the team that ultimately won the Super Bowl. I’ll be joining the 12s [Seahawks fans] in support of the Seahawks as they take on the challenge to repeat. I appreciate all of the wonderful opportunities and look forward to establishing myself as a businessman. I will always be a Seahawk!”

“The entire organization would like to thank Sidney for his leadership over the past three seasons,” said Seahawks general manager John Schneider. “His time as a Seahawks player displayed the core values that coach Pete Carroll and I aimed to bring to the program. Sidney is a true champion. We wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavors.”

Rice will head off into new ventures that the team said in a news release include having recently invested in five Wingstop restaurants, the first of which opened in June in Tacoma. Rice, a native of Gaffney, S.C., plans to continue to live in Seattle, according to the team’s website.

It very sad to see Sidney Rice retire at such a young age however, I commend him for looking at his health rather than the money. Good luck to him on his future endeavors.

Source:

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11254374/seattle-seahawks-receiver-sidney-rice-retires-age-27