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Packers Sign Son of Hall of Fame Receiver (Who Had Legendary Fumble)

The Green Bay Packers claimed Brenden Rice off waivers from the Raiders. His father is the legendary Jerry Rice.
Bill Huber|
The Green Bay Packers added receiver Brenden Rice, the son of Jerry Rice.
The Green Bay Packers added receiver Brenden Rice, the son of Jerry Rice. | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

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Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers claimed Brenden Rice, the son of perhaps the greatest receiver in NFL history, Jerry Rice, off waivers from the Raiders on Wednesday.

Rice was a seventh-round pick by the Chargers in 2024 and played three snaps on offense in three games as a rookie. He was not targeted in the passing game.

Last year, he failed to make their 53-man roster, then served short stints on the practice squads of the Patriots and Seahawks before spending the last month on the Raiders’ practice squad.

Las Vegas released him on Tuesday.

To clear a roster space, the Packers released defensive tackle James Ester, who spent the past two years on the practice squad and did not play in a game.

Rice played collegiately at Colorado and USC. During his two years with the Trojans, he caught 39 passes for 611 yards and four touchdowns as a junior and 37 passes for 644 yards and 11 touchdowns as a senior.

“Very physical off the line of scrimmage,” Jerry Rice said at the Senior Bowl. “I think he really relies a lot on that. I’m trying to get him to be a little bit more elusive off the line, use his quickness and all that, and then also his route-running, getting separation where he can catch the ball. Just little things like that. I’ll film those little things on him, then I’ll try to make those corrections.

“Overall, a hard worker and he loves the game of football and he’s going to give everything on the football field.”

Son of a Legend

Jerry Rice is the NFL’s career leader with 1,549 receptions, 22,895 receiving yards, 23,540 scrimmage yards, 197 receiving touchdowns and 207 total touchdowns.

He also was part of the most infamous non-fumble in Packers history, a blown call that led to Terrell Owens’ last-second touchdown catch in the 1997 playoffs and ruined Green Bay’s hopes of reaching a third consecutive Super Bowl.

The phrase “GOAT” has been so overused that it means almost nothing, Jerry Rice truly is the GOAT. In NFL history, he is the all-time leader by 41 receiving touchdowns and almost 4,500 yards. For Brenden, wearing “Rice” across the back of his jersey was a burden at times.

“It has its benefits and its minuses at the same time,” he said at the Scouting Combine. "It’s just a blessing to have that last name Rice and know that people expect so much from you. I was able to take the work ethic from him and each day-in and day-out. I’ve got to put my best foot forward and know I’m grinding toward something different, which separates me in this class of receivers.”

He added, “The standard is ridiculous, so you can see what you’re expecting from me.”

His father’s best advice?

“He always said, ‘You’ve got a last name, so you got a target on your back. Make sure you stay in the moment and don’t make the moment too big. Don’t overthink and you’ll be just fine.”

At the Scouting Combine, Rice measured 6-foot-2 3/8 and 208 pounds. He ran his 40 in 4.50 seconds.

“I could never run the 40,” Jerry Rice said. “If you had someone chasing me, I was going to run a 4.2 because I knew they wanted to hurt me. Yeah, I think he’s around that 4.4 and 4.5, so, yeah, he’s much faster.”

Won’t ‘Allow Myself to be Outworked’

USC Trojans wide receiver Brenden Rice (2) jumps over Arizona State Sun Devils defensive back Demetries Ford for a touchdown.
USC Trojans wide receiver Brenden Rice (2) jumps over Arizona State Sun Devils defensive back Demetries Ford for a touchdown. | Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

Rice was the 225th pick of the 2024 draft. He was taken for picks ahead of cornerback M.D. Devonshire, who the Packers claimed on Tuesday.

He was taken 209 picks after his father.

“What makes me the best receiver or what separates me (is), day-in and day-out, my work ethic,” he said. “I’m not going to allow myself to be outworked. No matter what position I’m drafted in or where I’m going, they’re going to get a dog. Each game I’m going to make sure no one’s outworking me. When it’s all said and done, I will hold my head tall.”

He averaged 16.7 yards per catch during his two seasons with the Trojans.

“Brenden has a lot of explosive plays down the field and long touchdown production. He can stretch the field vertically,” Chargers assistant general manager Chad Alexander said after the draft. “He does a lot of things that you really, really like. He blocks and does a really good job.”

Despite measurables and production, Rice was the fourth-to-last receiver off the board.

“My dad was hot,” Rice said after not being drafted. “The first words he said was, ‘Time to go to work.’ He said, ‘I will be with you every step of the way.’ He said, ‘Now, I’m going to be involved in all of your workouts from now on, and we have a lot of people to prove wrong, a lot of teams that go ahead.’ It’s going to be one hell of a story.”

The Packers parted ways with Romeo Doubs and Dontyavion Wicks this offseason. The only addition had been undrafted rookie J. Michael Sturdivant. There is an opening on the roster for a sixth receiver behind Christian Watson, Matthew Golden, Jayden Reed, Savion Williams and Skyy Moore, who was signed mostly for his return game.

Rice’s size will give him a shot considering Golden, Reed and Moore are not big receivers.

Rice said he modeled his game after a former Packers great.

“I model my game after the bigger types of receivers – the (Raiders’) Davante Adams, the (Titans’) Calvin Ridleys more so, or even (Tampa Bay’s) Mike Evans,” Rice said. “Being able to go ahead and be physical at the top of the route, create separation, or go up and make a jump-ball play, those types of plays, and be consistent for my quarterback, as well.”

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Bill Huber
BILL 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: packwriter2002@yahoo.com 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.