5:00pm: Rice has officially announced his retirement and discussed his decision on Seahawks.com:
“I was just thinking about things I’ve been through in the last few years,” he said. “I’ve hit the ground a number of times. I have quite a few injuries. It’s something I’ve always battled through and came back from.
“But I just figure at this point I have the rest of my life ahead of me and I want to be able to function and do things later down the road.”
Rice also talked about his future, including opening additional Wingstop restaurants.
“I’m sort of a job creator right now,” he said. “What got me into the wings? It’s my favorite food. In Minnesota there was no Wingstop. So me and Adrian Peterson, every time we’d have an away game, we’d hop in the car and try to find a Wingstop. So we always talked about opening one.”
Even with all of his future endeavors, the veteran still plans on spending time with his former teammates.
“I’m going to be around,” he said. “I love it. The state has grown on me, the people. The best fans you could ever hope for. So I’ll be around as much as possible in the locker room with those guys.
“It’s not something I don’t care about anymore. It’s just being able to enjoy life down the road as much as I can. But I want to help those guys as much as possible, and while they’re playing help them prepare for their future as much as I can.”
2:55pm: Former Pro Bowl receiver Sidney Rice will retire, a league source tells ProFootballTalk.com (via Twitter). The source says the 27-year-old’s concussion history was a factor in the decision (via Twitter). The Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta confirms the report on Twitter.
Rice was played on injured reserve during the 2011 season after sustaining a pair of concussions in a three-week span. He also dealt with concussion issues last season.
The veteran was also recovering from an ACL injury he sustained halfway through the 2013 season. He missed the rest of the season and watched on the sideline as the Seahawks won the Super Bowl. The team released Rice in late February, but the player returned on a one-year contract less than two months later.
The wideout never lived up to the five-year, $41MM he signed prior to the 2011 season. His best season came with the Vikings and Brett Favre in 2009 when he had 1,312 yards and eight touchdowns. He finished last season with 15 catches for 231 yards and three scores.