Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Sidney Rice is retiring at age 27.
Neither Rice nor the Seahawks mentioned it in Wednesday's official release, but he reportedly is walking away from the game because of a history or concussions.
"After careful consideration and seven wonderful years playing in the National Football League, including the last three for the Seattle Seahawks, I have decided to retire from playing in the National Football League," Rice said in the statement. "I have enjoyed my experiences with all of my coaches, teammates and passionate Seahawks fans.
"I take great pride in knowing I was one of the players signed to help build the foundation of the team that ultimately won the Super Bowl. I'll be joining the 12s [Seahawks fans] in support of the Seahawks as they take on the challenge to repeat. I appreciate all of the wonderful opportunities and look forward to establishing myself as a businessman. I will always be a Seahawk!"
Rice spent the previous three seasons with Seattle after playing the first four years of his NFL career in Minnesota. He was a second-round draft pick out of South Carolina in 2007. His best season was 2009 when he made the Pro Bowl after catching 83 passes for 1,312 yards and eight touchdowns.
Rice suffered a torn ACL in a game at St. Louis last October and spent the rest of the season on injured reserve after undergoing knee surgery. He was released by the Seahawks after the season ended for salary-cap reasons, but re-signed for a base salary of $1 million for 2014.
"The entire organization would like to thank Sidney for his leadership over the past three seasons," said Seahawks general manager John Schneider. "His time as a Seahawks player displayed the core values that [coach] Pete [Carroll] and I aimed to bring to the program. Sidney is a true champion. We wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavors."
