Awesome news! I really like this move even if it's a tad risky with his injury history. But assuming it's a very cheap contract with incentives to motivate him to play his best I like this a lot. Sidney just seems like a great team player, it's nice to give him another chance with us.
I had a feeling this might happen, especially if we weren't confident that the CFL guy Chris Matthews could ever come close to the talent of a healthy Sidney Rice. Even if Chris Matthews does contribute as another tall receiver along with Rice for those clutch 3rd downs etc. I still think picking up Sidney was a great move for our depth. If Harvin gets injured and we have a healthy Sidney Rice, that would still be pretty legit, very similar to our 2012 group if Baldwin steps up like Tate did that year.
In 2012 Sidney was clearly our #1 receiver slightly edging out Tate in my opinion. Although they are completely different types of players (Rice rarely gets yards after catch and Tate is one of the best at that) and we still need someone to take over punt returns, Sidney has proven that he is capable of putting up similar total receiving yards as Tate in our system. I'd still rather have Tate since I think he's more likely to have a more productive career than Rice going forward, but at least Sidney can get us those much needed yards. Both Rice and Tate have an incredible ability to high point the ball and make crazy catches on a regular basis, but since Rice is taller I think Russell really prefers going to him, he did target him slightly more than Tate in 2012.
I think out of all our current receivers this news will effect Kearse the most. They seem like pretty similar players to me as far as their roles in our offense. Kearse seemed like he was being groomed to take over for Sidney. But competition is always a good thing.
I think we could see a lot of rotation with Harvin, Rice, and Kearse. It seems like Baldin would get the most snaps because he seems durable and consistent, hopefully Harvin will get a ton too since he really tilts the field. It will be interesting to see who gets the next most snaps out of Rice, Kearse, and maybe even Chris Matthews.
I'm not sure if I agree that we should still focus on drafting a receiver seems a bit risky but if some amazing receiver is somehow still available it might work out in the long run. I really want to address the offensive line the most, we NEED to protect Russell. We might even need a defensive guy to replace someone like Clemons for example, or to replace Irvin if he takes Clemons role. We may even need a guy to eventually replace Maxwell or to provide depth if Maxwell or Sherman gets injured. I really have no idea what's gonna happen in the draft, but as long as our offensive line greatly improves next season I think we'll be in great shape for a Super Bowl repeat, especially if Sidney Rice can still play at a high level.
