Baltimore Ravens RB Ray Rice holds out of OTAs on deal demand -NFL News
Baltimore Ravens’ running back, Ray Rice, stays on holdout as the management is yet to respond to his pressing deal demand.
Rice has opted out of organised team activities (OTAs), which were started on Tuesday, May 22, as a protest to his demand of fresh and expensive deal.
He is another player in pursuit of a new hefty contract. Quarterback, Joe Flacco, had demanded the same but he later joined OTAs.
Although Ravens are reported to have agreed on signing a contract with the player, so far no progress has been seen on the subject.
In one of his earlier statements, Rice said that he had worked out his previous contract and deserved a fresh and expensive one.
As the matter lingers on, a solution to it is not expected before July, at earliest.
Even if both parties start negotiating fresh terms now, they will consume at least a month or more to sort out all deal related formalities.
Some sections of media have reported that Ravens themselves have set July as the earliest deadline for hammering out a fresh contract for Rice.
So it is certain that the player will miss the entire OTAs and whether he will opt out of the initial phase of training camp is not known yet.
A number of commentators foresee something constructive happening between the parties on the deal matter by then, and it is less likely for the player to be out of training camp.
The major hurdle in the way of finding an amicable solution is the hefty pay raise that the player has set eyes upon. Apparently, no final figure has been projected by either of the two sides.
One of the recent deals for the running back position is $40.758 million that Houston Texans have given to Arian Foster. The deal spans over four years.
Philadelphia Eagles have signed a similar deal with LeSean McCoy. The player has won a five-year, $45 million contract.
This is the pay range that Rice should be expecting from Ravens, as projected by some of the game analysts.
It is not clear what number is on the player’s mind and all the expectations and possibilities are down to the management’s willingness. The information around the extent the team can go to accept the player’s demand might be clearer once the negotiation
process commences.
Nothing can be taken as final by then.
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