The New York Jets have a powerful, chain-moving back in Chris Ivory. They also seem to have a talented third down option in Bilal Powell, who played very well over the final few weeks of the 2015 season and eventually finished the year with 388 yards and 2 touchdowns receiving to go along with 313 yards and 1 touchdown rushing. Behind Ivory and Powell, New York has a back that has struggled to stay healthy, but has proven dangerous when on the field in former Patriot Stevan Ridley. All that being said, the Jets' seemingly enviable depth at the position is nothing more than a mirage at this point - none of the three backs are signed beyond 2015.
As such, GM Mike Maccagnan and head coach Todd Bowles are likely set to consider a variety of options at the running back spot for next season and beyond. Interestingly, Maccagnan admitted during a radio appearance on Friday that embattled running back Ray Rice, the former Baltimore Raven who was suspended indefinitely by the NFL and since September 2014 has remained unsigned after video surfaced of him punching his then-fiancée, was a guy the team considered signing.
"I think we've talked about that at various points in time," Maccagnan said of Rice, while appearing on Craig Carton and Boomer Esiason's WFAN radio show, per Darryl Slate of NJ.com. "I would probably say that that would be one that I would probably have to sit down and talk with Todd [Bowles, the Jets' head coach] and Woody [Johnson, the Jets' owner]. But I don't foresee that at this point in time."
Rice was a productive back in Baltimore prior to the incident in that Atlantic City casino. From 2009 to 2012, Rice posted four-straight seasons of over 1,100-yards rushing and at least 5 touchdowns. His play suffered in 2013 and Rice managed just 660 yards and 4 touchdowns on 214 carries before the video surfaced and his career was stopped dead in its tracks.
With Ivory coming off a career year - 1,070 yards, 7 touchdowns rushing and 217 yards, 1 touchdown receiving - re-signing him won't be an easy task. He's a valuable player and the kind of running back that can operate as the engine of an offense, but he's also not a gamebreaker. And there's something concerning about a player posting a career year in a contract season.
In the end, the Jets could wind up going any number of ways at running back. For now, it sounds like Rice isn't in the cards. But if Ivory signs elsewhere or proves too expensive and the market thins, it wouldn't be surprising to see Maccagnan and Bowles buy low on a guy in Rice who was once the focal point of a rugged NFL offense.
