The best way Sidney Rice can illustrate why he’s no longer a Minnesota Viking is by showing his call history from late July.
Seattle area codes kept lighting up his cell phone at the start of free agency. First it was Seahawks coach Pete Carroll. Then general manager John Schneider, followed by offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and even defensive coordinator Gus Bradley.
The Seahawks’ phone diligence echoed the financial commitment they were ready to offer the Pro Bowl receiver, a five-year, $41 million deal worth $18.5 million in guaranteed money.
Though Rice said he strongly considered returning to Minnesota after four years, one dynamic season and injury problems, he remembered the one person who called from Winter Park – coach Leslie Frazier.
When the Vikings visit the Seahawks for Saturday night’s preseason game in CenturyLink Field, Rice will line up against the team that, in his eyes, didn’t show him the love.
“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?” Rice told the Pioneer Press on Wednesday. “I just didn’t feel it….It came down to Seattle showing me they wanted me to be a part of the program.”
Rice is one of three former Vikings who signed with Seattle during the offseason, including quarterback Tarvaris Jackson and Bevell.
Re-signing Rice would have been costly for
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