Packers add another offensive weapon and his football DNA should have fans excited about long-term potential
Green Bay claimed wide receiver Brenden Rice off waivers from the Las Vegas Raiders. He’s the son of legend Jerry Rice.
The Green Bay Packers are not done making roster moves. On Wednesday, the team claimed wide receiver Brenden Rice off waivers from the Las Vegas Raiders. His football DNA couldn’t be much better: He’s the son of legendary receiver Jerry Rice.
A seventh-round pick by the Los Angeles Chargers in 2024, the young Rice played three regular season games as a rookie. Since then, he’s moved around the NFL, with quick stints for the New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, and Raiders. He was cut on Tuesday, opening the door for Green Bay to claim him.
What Brenden Rice brings to the table
Rice is a 6-3, 210-pound, 24-year-old receiver. He’s played only three offensive snaps and 10 special teams snaps in regular season games. In two preseasons for the Chargers, he was targeted 21 times and had four receptions for 43 yards, with one drop, and a 39.6 passer rating when targeted.
Ahead of the 2024 draft, Rice received a fourth-round grade from NFL.com‘s Lance Zierlein coming out of USC.
“The bloodlines don’t get much better than Jerry Rice, so Brenden Rice might have a head start on the rest of the field. He’s big and plays a physical brand of football when cornerbacks want to fight over space. He lacks sudden feet, so beating press cleanly and separating on short routes could be challenging as a pro. Rice possesses good build-up speed to create deep-ball opportunities once his ball skills are added to the equation. Rice catches with quick, strong hands and good extension to help with frequent contested catches. There are some limitations at play, but he has enough checkmarks to project as an early backup with some upward mobility.” — Lance Zierlein
In his final college season, Rice scored 12 touchdowns with 45 receptions and 791 yards.
The Packers didn’t heavily invest in the wide receiver position this offseason, even after losing Romeo Doubs in free agency and trading Dontayvion Wicks to the Philadelphia Eagles. Before Rice, the only addition was undrafted rookie J. Michael Sturdivant. And they are both essentially fighting for practice squad spots.
Roster moves
As a corresponding move to claiming Rice, the Packers waived defensive tackle James Ester. On Tuesday, the Packers had also claimed cornerback MJ Devonshire and tight end Luke Lachey.