The New England Patriots made an attention-grabbing personnel move last week when, on November 4, they signed they signed free agent wide receiver Brenden Rice, who caught 84 passes for 1,402 yards in two years at USC before being drafted in 2024 by the Los Angeles Chargers.
His totals playing for Lincoln Riley were not what drew headlines for Rice. It was his famous last name. The 23-year-old is the son of retired San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders receiver Jerry Rice, a 2010 Hall of Fame inductee generally considered the single greatest wide receiver ever to play in the NFL.
The younger Rice has not come close to his father’s historic level of performance, but he led USC in touchdowns in 2023 â his final season as a Trojan â with 12, and placed second among the team’s receivers with 791 yards on 45 catches.
Rice Latest Patriots Cut
Just two years later, Rice’s career now appears to coming to a premature end after the Patriots â just seven days after signing him â released the 2024 seventh-round draft pick from their practice squad.
The move was completed to make room on the roster for running back Jonathan Ward, who was signed to New England’s practice squad on October 28 the cut one week later when the Patriots needed room on the roster to add Rice.
On Tuesday, the Patriots made exactly the reverse move â but the rapid shifts in the team’s practice squad needs at least open the possibility that Rice could be re-signed sometime in the future.
In all likelihood, Rice was simply a victim of the Patriots’ injury situation.
Patriots Have Greater Need For Running Back
The New England wide receiver room led by Stefon Diggs along with Mack Hollins, DeMario Douglas, rookies Kyle Williams and Efton Chism III, and Kayshon Boutte, is mostly healthy. Only Boutte missed Sunday’s victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The third-year receiver out of LSU missed the game with a hamstring injury suffered the week before against the Atlanta Falcons, but was listed as “limited” on Monday’s injury report, a possible sign that he could be available for the Patriots Thursday Night Football clash with the New York Jets.
The running back situation is more precarious. Lead back Rhamondre Stevenson remains uncertain to play after missing two weeks with a toe condition. Backup Terrell Jennings left Sunday’s game with a knee injury and even 2025 second-round draft pick TreVeyon Henderson appeared to hyperextend his knee in Sundays’ game, but returned to action after missing just one play.
Projected as Mid-Round Pick
The Patriots may simply feel that they need more depth at running back than at wide receiver for Thursday’s Jets game.
After he was projected by Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh as a mid-round draft pick, according to an ESPN report, the 6-foot-3, 210-pound Rice fell all the way to the seventh round where the Chargers grabbed him.
Rice signed a four-year, $4.1 million contract with Los Angeles but never came close to finishing it. After he appeared in just three games, with the bulk of his duties coming on special teams, the Chargers placed Rice on season-ending injured reserve with a shoulder injury.
The Chargers ultimately released Rice on August 26, and he languished without a team until the Patriots signed him last week â only to turn around and cut him a week later.
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