Rice Wants ‘One More Shot’

Jerry Rice doesn’t know whether he’s destined to stay with the Oakland Raiders, but he is sure of one thing: Next season will be his last.

“I can tell you that,” he said Tuesday. “This will be my last year.”

Rice, the NFL’s all-time regular-season and Super Bowl leader in touchdowns, receptions and yards receiving, had not publicly announced his retirement plans before doing so to a few reporters Tuesday at a Super Bowl promotional event. He said he would prefer to remain a Raider, even if it meant choosing Oakland over a team that might have a better chance of winning a championship.

“The thing is, for me, I would like to get to a Super Bowl, but it’s not all about that anymore,” said Rice, 41, who won three rings with San Francisco and last season as a Raider played in a fourth Super Bowl. “In all of those Super Bowls, I was so focused in on winning Super Bowls that I lost sight of the game and enjoying the game. I would love to be back with the Raiders and just, if it happens, fine. If it doesn’t, then just go on.”

Rice is under contract to the Raiders, but that does not preclude them from cutting him before next season. Whatever else happens, Rice plans to play somewhere.

“I want maybe one more shot,” he said. “I still want to play football.”

Bill Walsh, his longtime coach with the 49ers, recently said Rice and fellow Raider receiver Tim Brown should retire now.

“I’d assume they would [retire],” Walsh said while sitting in as a radio co-host on the Bay Area’s KNBR. “I hope they do. I’m not trying to give a message to Jerry, but this is a graceful time to step away.”

Rice isn’t ready to heed that advice. He had a brief conversation with newly hired Coach Norv Turner before leaving for Houston and plans to speak with him again when he returns.

“If I’m not in the plan, then basically it’s time to move on,” Rice said. “I have had three good years with the Raiders. I think I’ve been productive. With what happened last year, I did the best I could possibly do, and that was it.”

The Raiders finished 4-12, tying their worst record since owner Al Davis came on the scene in 1963. Rice, who played in 16 games, finished with 63 receptions, his lowest total since his rookie year.

Before hiring Turner, Davis said he did not want to bring a disciplinarian in to replace Bill Callahan, who had clearly lost control of the team and was fired after the season. But Rice said the team needed a coach who will be unbending when it comes to enforcing the rules.

“You’ve got to have that,” he said. “I feel like if you don’t have that, then we’re going to be in the same situation as last year. With the new coach, I think he’s going to be able to get the players behind him. All the players want is, basically ... respect. If you give the players respect, they’re going to go out there and lay it on the line for you.”

Rice said the Raiders limited their big-play potential by congesting the field with too many receivers. He also said the team should decide on an offensive “go-to guy” and stick with him.

“Going into the season, I told everybody that we need a go-to guy,” he said. “It didn’t have to be me. But you look at all the different teams, they’ve got the go-to guy, someone who’s going to generate and get the offense going. You can’t just leave it up to the quarterback to spread the ball around and make decisions.”