Ever since linebacker Monty Rice was surprisingly drafted in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans, he has struggled to prove that he was worth that type of investment.
Whenever he is on the field, the Georgia product has been a stout run defender, earning a respectable grade of 73.8, per Pro Football Focus.
Unfortunately, Rice’s biggest hurdle routinely comes with the fact that he struggles to stay on the field. He has yet to play a full season since being drafted, and truthfully, he appears to be better suited for a depth role as opposed to being a main contributor in an NFL defense.
However, everything was set up for Rice to have a chance to change the narrative in 2023 after he was projected to finally take the reins as one of Tennessee’s starting inside linebackers.
Sadly, Rice’s inability to stay on the field is already starting to become a problem and we haven’t even reached the start of the regular season.
After playing just seven snaps in preseason Week 1, and sitting out all of last week’s practices and the preseason Week 2 game, head Coach Mike Vrabel was asked about Rice’s absence on Monday.
As you’d expect, Vrabel didn’t offer much, with the Titans head coach saying Rice was “not available” and that “when he’s ready to go, he’ll be back out there,” according to Easton Freeze of Broadway Sports.
Rice entered training camp with it being his job to lose, and he certainly is on track to do just that unless he can find a way to get back on the field as soon as possible — but even then, it might not be enough.
Linebacker Jack Gibbens has been getting first-team reps alongside Azeez Al-Shaair for much of training camp, and both he and Chance Campbell started over Rice in preseason Week 1.
For now, my money is on either Gibbens or Campbell to take the job — and hopefully run with it.
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