There have been, naturally, a plethora of emotions regarding the loss of WR Sidney Rice. We've run the gamut of rage, sorrow, apathy, some even happiness. Some of us have gone through the stages of grieving and are on our own individual steps in that regard.
But what about the man himself? What does El Cid feel about how FA came together, about his departure from the Vikings to the Seahawks?
Well, apparently, he's quite OK with it- because according to him, the Vikings barely made a push to keep him.
"If you hear from them throughout the rest of the season telling you they are going to be in touch, are going to negotiate and it never happens, you've got to wonder - do they really want me there or not? I just didn't feel it. It came down to Seattle showing me they wanted me to be a part of the program."
Hmmm. Rice also says the only person he heard from after the offseason actually resumed post-lockout was HC Leslie Frazier. I'm a bit curious as to that- we all heard that the Vikings considered Rice a priority. But were those reports, in fact, simply to keep the fanbase subdued? Did the Vikings feel that Rice was simply too expensive with current salary cap issues, or perhaps that post-hip surgery, he would be more akin to his '07 and '08 self rather than the '09 superstar?
It almost sounds to me, from what Rice is saying (and I don't feel he has a lot of motivation to lie), that this is a bit of a similar situation to the now infamous offseason courting of Drew Brees by the Miami Dolphins and the New Orleans Saints. Sure, there were two teams in contention, but one team made the effort of "meh, if you'd like to be here, I guess we're OK with that" and another team made the effort of "we really, REALLY want you here, please come here, we love you!".
If that's the truth, then a lot of how we will see the Vikings FO in the future depends on how Rice performs this season. If he ends up being largely a bust, we will consider them geniuses. If, however, he's his '09 self, hauling in catches left and right and being considered a top-10 or even top-5 WR, we may never forgive them.
Regardless, Rice has no Moss-like comments (remember Moss' ">expletive deleted< them" when asked, in his first season with the Raiders, about how he felt about the Vikes) about us now that his path has gone elsewhere.
"I leave there with fond memories. I had a great time with the fans and my teammates."