Wide receiver Sidney Rice, who missed much of the 2010 season with a hip injury, has made his way out of Minnesota, as he will sign a lucrative free agent deal with the Seattle Seahawks when free agency officially begins on Friday. The contract signing will be dependent on whether or not Rice passes his physical with Seattle.
The deal is rumored to be a five-year contract worth $41 million, with $18.5 million of that being guaranteed. That's a huge chunk of change for a guy with the propensity for getting injured that Rice has shown over the course of his four-year NFL career.
After being drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft, Rice spent two injury-plagued seasons with the Vikings before breaking out in 2009. In that year, Rice hauled in 83 catches for 1,312 yards and eight touchdown receptions. However, he got injured during the 2009 NFC Championship Game against the New Orleans Saints, and neglected to have surgery on it until August of 2010, causing him to miss the first nine games of Minnesota's season.
In the other three seasons he's played with Minnesota, Rice has just 63 total catches for 817 yards.