Jerry Rice, an NFL legend, is going to have to prove himself all over again.
At age 42.
The wide receiver – with 1,549 career catches, 208 touchdowns, 20 NFL seasons, 13 Pro Bowls and three Super Bowl championships on his résumé – agreed Wednesday to a one-year deal with the Broncos. His contract calls for him to make $765,000 with a $25,000 signing bonus, an NFL source said.
Rice agreed to come to Denver even though coach Mike Shana- han has told him his place on the roster is not guaranteed.
“It worked out perfect with Mike in the conversation we had,” Rice said Wednesday. “He is not rolling out the red carpet. I have always had to compete for a job and that’s the way I prefer it. I have always had to prove myself and this is nothing new.”
Rice’s agent, Jim Steiner, said there are compelling reasons Rice wants to play a 21st season in the NFL.
“What drives Jerry is his love for the game and the passion that still burns in his gut,” Steiner said. “And he has a passion not just for playing, but for winning. He wanted to play for a contending team like the Broncos. Plus, he thinks that Coach Shanahan knows how to use him better than any coach in the league.”
The most recent man to throw to Rice, Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, predicted Rice not only will make the Broncos’ roster, he will make the Broncos better in 2005.
“Absolutely Jerry can still play,” Hasselbeck said. “He might not have caught a lot of passes last season for us, but he did a lot of things you could never measure. From my perspective, he was a joy to play with. It was an honor, and I think he made our team better.”
The Broncos are Rice’s third team in two seasons. Last year, he had just five catches in six games with the Oakland Raiders before they traded him to Seattle. Rice finished 2004 with 30 receptions for 429 yards and three touchdowns, his worst season, except for 1997 when knee injuries limited him to two games.
In his final three games with Seattle, including the Seahawks’ playoff loss to St. Louis, Rice was shut out.
In February, Seattle released Rice and he contemplated retirement. Earlier in the offseason, Rice approached the 49ers about returning to the franchise where he starred from 1985- 2000, but first-year 49ers coach Mike Nolan respectfully declined Rice’s request. Earlier this month, Steiner faxed all 32 teams, apprising them of Rice’s desire to play one more season.
Hasselbeck said Rice still has the passion to play the game.
“I would see Jerry – we all called him Mr. Rice – in his football cleats, running on the treadmill, 10 minutes before practice,” he said. “Most of the other guys would get out on the field just in time for our 10 a.m. practice. They would be out there at 9:59. But Jerry was already working. And he worked after practice, too.”
Shanahan and Rice forged a strong relationship during Shanahan’s three years as the 49ers’ offensive coordinator from 1992-94. In the 1994 season, Rice set a 49ers season record with 112 receptions and set an NFL record with his ninth consecutive 1,000-yard season. He also caught three touchdown passes in the 49ers’ victory over San Diego in Super Bowl XXIX.
Shanahan has called Rice “arguably the best player to ever play the game.” Yet the magic Rice and Shanahan created in San Francisco doesn’t secure Rice a place on Denver’s roster. Shanahan declined to talk to the media Wednesday, but last week he laid out the challenge facing Rice.
“There’s no promises of him being the third receiver, the fourth receiver, the fifth receiver,” Shanahan said. “I told Jerry that I don’t know if he’s lost a step or two steps, but you’re going to come here for one reason and that’s to compete with the other guys. And if you’re one of our top five guys at the end of camp, then you’re going to be on our football team. If you’re not, I said I’d have one of the toughest jobs in the world.”
Rice has 16 regular-season NFL records and was named to the NFL’s 75th anniversary team. But the question facing Denver is how much he has left to give.
“You don’t know,” Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer said. “He’s as well-rounded a receiver as there has ever been. But you state his age and that’s a big issue. Forty-two years old and what can he do? What can he not do?”
Hasselbeck acknowledged Rice has lost speed, but said given the right situation Rice still can excel.
“He’s got great hands, they’re enormous, so you know he can catch the ball,” Hasselbeck said. “And although Jerry’s not that fast anymore, he can still run great routes. I saw guys fall down last year trying to cover him.”
Most of all, Hasselbeck said, Rice will bring leadership and class to the Broncos.
“I didn’t know quite what to expect when he came here,” Hasselbeck said. “But there was no ego. He told us he was just there to help the team. The young guys who paid attention to Jerry learned a lot from him.”
Staff writer Thomas George contributed to this story.
Staff writer Patrick Saunders can be reached at 303-820-5459 or psaunders@denverpost.com.
