Packers’ Brenden Rice on Opportunity, Being Son of Jerry Rice, Infamous Fumble

In this story:

The Green Bay Packers might not have a Jerry Rice on their receiver corps.

They do have Rice’s son.

The Packers signed Brenden Rice just before the start of OTAs. When training camp begins late next month, he will be part of the wide-open competition for the final spot or two on the receiver depth chart.

“It’s amazing,” Brenden Rice told Packers On SI. “I’ve been embraced the whole time, and I feel like the coaching staff is just gradually building me into things, allowing me to go ahead and get situated. But, you know, at the same time, it’s a hurry-up on the process.

“This is Year 3 for me, so I have to go in and have an understanding of this offense and what their standard is and how they want things done.”

From that perspective, Rice faced an uphill battle during OTAs and minicamp. Other than undrafted rookie J. Michael Sturdivant, who signed a couple weeks earlier, the rest of Green Bay’s receivers were holdovers from last season.

Having to think his way through alignments, routes and adjustments isn’t ideal, but Rice – a seventh-round pick by the Chargers in 2024 after scoring 12 touchdowns as Caleb Williams’ go-to receiver at USC in 2023 – wouldn’t use it as an excuse.

“Maybe if I was a rookie still,” he said. “Now that I’m going into Year 3, all the concepts everywhere pretty much are the same, and then the terminology is just different. And then it’s a different type of offense. You’ve got to do like Jordan Love in the backfield, just chucking that thing. So, just know that he wants you in the right space at the right time to put that trust into you and just knowing that you have to do your job.”

Being Jerry Rice’s Son

Jerry Rice is one of the greatest players in the history of the NFL. The Hall of Famer is the all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns by ridiculous margins. He finished with 117 more catches than Larry Fitzgerald, 5,403 yards more than Fitzgerald and 41 more touchdowns than Randy Moss. His 208 total touchdowns are 33 more than Emmitt Smith and 12 more than Green Bay’s career leaders, Hall of Famers Don Hutson and Jim Taylor, combined.

So, what was it like being the son of the GOAT?

“Just knowing that the expectations are always going to be held to a higher standard, from not only myself but everybody else around me,” Rice said. “And just knowing that the work ethic is going to be required every day. More is required.”

Was it pressure? Did he feel the burden of the expectations that come with “RICE” emblazoned on the back of the jersey? That Jerry Rice was the greatest receiver to ever play the game, so Brenden Rice should be dominant, as well?

“Pressure is a privilege. That’s all,” Rice said. “Pressure is a privilege.”

A mature approach has allowed Rice to block out the expectations and simply focus on being the best he can be.

“I feel as though that if I allowed my confidence to go ahead and be waived, then I would fail as a football player,” he said. “Honestly, I don’t even rely on myself or my own understanding. I just rely on my faith in God and just put in the necessary things each and every day so tomorrow I can go ahead and put the steps forward to make sure I’m successful.

“I’m successful in life, period.”

That outlook on football didn’t come from his father and it didn’t come until later in life. He said he learned it after his rookie season with the Chargers, when he played in three games before spending the second half of the year on injured reserve.

“Certain things aren’t always going to fall your way,” Rice said. “You could be doing everything right, and God has a different plan for you. So, you just always have to be ready for that next step and just going ahead and being prepared each and every day, preparing for that next opportunity, because that next opportunity could propel you forward into a whole new light that you couldn’t even imagine.”

Rice said his dad gives him critiques and advice “from time to time” and will provide guidance when asked.

“Everything else, he’s just, ‘Man, you just got to go out there and do what everybody won’t do, so tomorrow you can do what everybody can’t do.’”

Opportunity Knocks for Brenden Rice

The 24-year-old Rice, who was the 225th pick of the 2024 draft, was claimed off waivers after the Raiders released him on May 11. He was thrilled to get another opportunity so quickly. Last year, the Chargers released him at the end of training camp and he was out of the league for more than two months. He served brief practice-squad stints with the Patriots and Seahawks before landing with the Raiders in December.

Having been released four times in less than a year, Rice admitted that human nature kicked in when he was let go by the Raiders. Would he get another chance?

“Shoot, I wondered what’s next at the past couple places, but the thing is, at the same time, I left my mark on each of those places, which gives me opportunities at the next spot,” he said. “So, I won’t ever ask myself what’s next. I’ll just keep preparing and, hopefully soon, the tables will turn and everything will fall my way.

“I hope it’s here because they have a long line of receivers that have been developed here in Green Bay and that have come from nothing or didn’t have a name, and they were able to establish themselves a name here.”

Could the tables turn in Green Bay? The Packers parted ways with Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks this offseason. They added receiver/returner Skyy Moore in free agency but didn’t draft a receiver. So, he’s got a great opportunity.

“For sure,” he agreed. “Outside looking in, there’s not a lot of established guys but, at the same time, this is the NFL. Everybody’s good. So, every place you go, you’re going to have certain dudes that can go out and do anything on any given Sunday. It’s just about opportunities. That’s all.”

Having to learn Green Bay’s offense on the fly, Rice is eager to get on the field for training camp, when he has a firm grasp of the playbook and can let his natural ability shine.

Rice has the physical tools at 6-foot-2 3/8 and 208 pounds. His 4.50 time in the 40 wasn’t great, though it was much faster than his dad’s legendary (and inaccurate) mark. He’s got some production, too, with 45 catches for 791 yards (17.6 average) and a dozen scores for the Trojans as a senior.

#49ers legend Jerry Rice watching his son Brenden Rice run the 40 🙌🏼 pic.twitter.com/IhinRwuaSV

— OurSF49ers (@OurSf49ers) March 2, 2024

What will the fans at training camp see when Rice is up to speed?

“A free spirit Brenden Rice that can just play football and have fun,” he said. “That’s dangerous. That’s dangerous. Once I get this offense down and I get comfortable, it’s going to be dangerous.”

At the end of the interview, Rice was asked if his dad ever said anything about Green Bay. His dad had some history against the Packers, obviously, including the most infamous non-fumble in NFL history in the 1998 playoffs.

Brenden laughed before the fumble was referenced.

“Yeah, the other day we were talking about it. He said he fumbled. He told me he fumbled.”

SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE DAILY PACKERS NEWSLETTER

---

Published 26 minutes ago | Modified 16 seconds agoBILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: [email protected] History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.

---