No matter how gruff the examination, inspection or analysis, the Broncos were not about to cut Jerry Rice on Saturday. He is good enough to be included among the bottom rung of the receivers, they concluded.
Right now, he has a spot among their final 53.
Jerry Rice was not about to walk away from the Broncos. He is too storied a player, too noble an NFL figure to simply retire among the hundreds of players who were released across the league.
He took his Broncos roster spot. For the day. Maybe two.
But there are indications that Rice as early as Monday will retire from pro football.
Ranking as a fifth or sixth Broncos receiver this season, as a player who for some games would probably not even dress, will not cut it for Rice.
The tug from his family back in the Bay Area kept swaying him to move on.
And Rice saw what we saw Friday night in the Broncos’ final preseason game, at Arizona. He watched young receivers Darius Watts and Charlie Adams give the Broncos what they have been looking for from both. He saw Watts hold on to the ball and Adams work efficiently as a receiver and returner. And then when Rice saw another young receiver, Todd Devoe, make plays with flair and style, it was clear.
The Broncos have plenty of what they need at receiver – without Rice.
Oh, Rice could change his mind, return and stay for good, give it a go, breeze through the NFL one more time on sort of a farewell tour. But that is not the course I believe he will take. I think he is ready to go.
The training camp and preseason afforded him the chance to attempt a 21st NFL season. A chance to push his body, his legs, knowing he turns 43 on Oct. 13. Rice knows he cannot run like he once did, gain separation like he routinely did.
But I am certain he thinks he is still good enough to play. And so do the Broncos, in a lesser role.
Others are more brutal in their assessment. Other coaches and general managers across the league say Rice simply cannot do it all, that the first thing to go for a veteran player is his legs. And his are gone, they insist.
The burst is gone.
We will have to listen to Rice if he decides to retire and see what he thinks of that. How much of this thinking is in his mind? How much was it a factor?
A gallant, proud man like Rice, even if he thought any of this, would probably not admit it. He will probably focus more on his time spent in Denver, with the Broncos, around new faces and old ones and the opportunity granted him by coach Mike Shanahan.
I bet Shanahan was quite frank and honest with Rice over the weekend. I bet he told him he wanted him, to stay, but …. I know Shanahan is glad Rice became a Bronco, if only for a few months.
There is no way the Broncos’ receivers could have practiced with him, watched him work, and not benefited from it. The younger receivers gained a rare chance to view greatness up close, even though the old burst was not there. Rice impacted the Broncos’ competitive spirit in positive ways, especially among the receivers. This season should prove it.
If Rice retires, the Broncos will be in the unusual position of having set their 53-man roster and afterward enjoying the chance to add a player. This gives the Broncos a nice shot of adding a player they might have initially wanted from their practice squad or scouring the list of cut players, in hopes of adding an unexpected gem.
Hugh Douglas got the ax in Philadelphia. Freddie Mitchell did not last long in Kansas City, nor did David Terrell in New England. Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala was cut by Jacksonville. Kevin Dyson did not make the grade in Washington.
It is a mixed group out there looking for NFL work, young and old, some enticing, others dreadfully finished.
Pretty soon we will probably hear Rice talking about hanging it up, leaving on good terms with the Broncos, leaving on even better terms in his own mind and in NFL lore.
The Broncos will not miss in the real games, starting in Miami next Sunday, what they never had.
Greatness sometimes waffles past us like the aroma of the sweetest perfume. We get a whiff. We savor the scent.
And the memories, alone, must do.
Staff writer Thomas Georgecan be reached at 303-820-1994 or tgeorge@denverpost.com.
