Where Will Sidney Rice Land This Offseason? Minnesota Seems Most Likely

Quick, which free agent wide receiver is 24 years old, slated to make about as much money as most guys on the open market, and had 17 receptions all of last year? If you didn’t guess it by reading the headline, then know that Vikings wide receiver Sidney Rice will be one of the top free agents this offseason, and that I personally believe he is very likely to return to the Minnesota Vikings, but that doesn’t mean he will.

Rice is from Gaffney, South Carolina, and rumors have been swirling as to where he could wind up. Will he head East to play with New England and Tom Brady? Will he bolt to Cleveland and join the rising Browns? He will certainly have plenty of options when he goes to free agency, but it might be the smartest to stay in Minnesota.

First of all, I think Minnesota will give him the most guaranteed money. They know his injury history better than any other teams, and they will be most willing to commit big dollars to him. He is their unquestioned number one receiver, and will be a core part of their team going into the future.

The Vikings will sell themselves hard to Sidney Rice, and it will be tough for him to decline. A new stadium should be on the way while he’s in his next contract, the Vikings have a great fan base, and they just drafted a quarterback of the future that Rice can theoretically grow old with in Christian Ponder.

Still, you never know what could make an NFL player change his mind. Perhaps he wants to be closer to home and will go play for the Panthers or Redskins, both of whom have needs at the wide receiver position. Maybe he will see a void left on a team by another prospective free agent like Vincent Jackson and go help out a team like the Chargers.

The options are endless, really for Rice, and the future of the Vikings could depend on it. They struggled mightily without him in the lineup last season after his monster 2009 season. This is a big year in terms of free agency for the Vikings, because they could be potentially losing the likes of Ray Edwards, Sidney Rice, Brett Favre, and Pat Williams among others, including Sidney Rice. They have to choose which guys they want to stick around to be the core of this team because Adrian Peterson will be due a contract extension soon.

Vikings fans can only hope that Rice chooses to be part of that future blueprint, because if he leaves, it could mean a domino effect that leads Adrian Peterson to eventually leave, and so forth.