Ray Rice and 5 NFL Players Who Shouldn't Enter Season Without New Contracts

Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice headlines a trio of running backs that need new contracts before the 2012 season starts, but Rice, Matt Forte and Maurice Jones-Drew aren't alone. 

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees has been battling his front office for a new deal since before the team slapped the franchise tag on him, and the league's single-season passing yards record holder has put his frustrations on the record over the last several weeks. 

There's also Lions defensive end Cliff Avril, who has quickly emerged as one of the better young pass-rushers in the NFC but may end up playing 2012 on the one-year franchise tender. 

In the following five slides, we'll break down each player in more depth.

RB Ray Rice, Baltimore Ravens

There's just one back in the NFL who has averaged more than 1,250 yards rushing and 70 catches per season since 2009, and it's Rice.

Simply put, there's no back in the game currently that does as much for his offense than the multi-talented Rice. 

Yet here we sit, with May quickly nearing its conclusion, and Rice remains without a long-term deal. If Rice and the Ravens can't come to terms on a new deal before July 16, Rice will have to play the 2012 season on the one-year franchise tender. 

Dan Pompei of the Chicago Tribune reported that Rice is "seeking $10 million a year" but that "he is not likely to get that from the Ravens."

It would be hard to argue that Rice hasn't been worth $10 million a season to the Ravens since '09, and he's only 25 years old—which means his next three or four years should be the most productive of his NFL career. 

I would also doubt that Rice gets the $10 million he's asking, and I'm sure Ozzie Newsome would prefer to slap the franchise tag on his back for 2012 and then 2013, too.

Even paying the 120 percent of the tag in 2013 would make more monetary sense than a long-term deal at the running back position. 

But if Newsome cared at all about rewarding a major part of his football team that is just entering his prime, Rice needs a new multi-year deal before the 2012 season. He's done more than enough to earn the contractual security. 

QB Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints

If you made a list of NFL players that meant the most to their teams and cities, Saints quarterback Drew Brees would be near the top. 

Not only did Brees help lead the Saints' revival after Hurricane Katrina—winning the franchise's first Super Bowl in 2010—but he's also currently one of the NFL's top two or three players at the game's most important position.

Brees is now faced with guiding New Orleans past the multitude of bounty punishments that have been handed down this offseason, including the loss of his head coach and the team's defensive leader.

And yet the Saints are rewarding him for all he's done previously by expecting him to shoulder the enormous 2012 load on a one-year franchise tender. 

Getting Brees a multi-year deal—something that should have been an afterthought this offseason—needs to happen before the 2012 season begins. The last thing the Saints need on their hands next season is a grumpy quarterback.

RB Matt Forte, Chicago Bears

There may not be a more contentious set of contract talks this offseason than the dealings of Forte with the Chicago Bears. 

Forte has been pleading for a new deal for the better part of a year, but what have the Bears done since last summer? 

Chicago stonewalled Forte's requests for all of 2011—which eventually ended in a season-ending injury for Forte—before replacing GM Jerry Angelo with Phil Emery this offseason.

Emery has stayed Angelo's course, slapping the franchise tag on Forte with little effort in getting a long-term deal done for beyond 2012. 

The Bears also added former Oakland Raiders running back Michael Bush, who gives the offense a capable starter in case Forte misses any games next season. 

While the leverage in talks has shifted Chicago's way, there's still no denying how productive Forte has been since the Bears drafted him four years ago. 

In 60 starts since 2008, Forte has 4,223 rushing yards (4.2 yards per carry) and 223 catches for another 1,985 yards. The running numbers don't jump off the screen, but there are a lot of receivers in the NFL who haven't matched Forte's production in the passing game for Chicago over the last four seasons. 

Eventually, Forte will have to make some monetary concessions, but there's no reason he should have to play the 2012 season on a one-year franchise tag. He's worthy of a multi-year deal from the Bears.

RB Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville Jaguars

Jones-Drew may have the worst case for a new deal of anyone on this list, but it is easy to see why he would be interested in holding out this offseason to leverage a re-worked contract. 

The lone offensive star for the Jaguars, Jones-Drew signed a five-year, $31 million contract during the 2009 offseason.

Since he signed that deal, however, the market for backs has outpaced the $31 million, and Jones-Drew's production has stayed at an elite level. 

While Jones-Drew still has two years left on that '09 deal, he is likely seeing now as his last chance to get a big deal and the contract security associated with it. 

Jones-Drew is 27 years old and will likely approach the 2,000-touch mark sometime during the 2012 season. His hourglass for playing in the league is slowing but surely running out of sand. 

But he's also coming off the best season of his NFL career in 2011, a year in which Jones-Drew led the NFL in rushing (1,606 yards) and carried an offense that had him and only him as a viable weapon.

The new contracts that Arian Foster and LeSean McCoy have received this offseason are also likely making the decision to skip OTAs that much easier for Jones-Drew. 

I wouldn't assume that Jones-Drew is going to get the big extension with guaranteed money that he wants, but there's no reason why the Jaguars can't re-work his deal to make it more market-friendly for their offense's best player.

DE Cliff Avril, Detroit Lions

Avril is the one contract dispute that no one seems to be talking about.

One of the game's emerging pass-rushers at defensive end, Avril received the one-year franchise tag from the Detroit Lions this offseason. 

The owner of 19.5 sacks and seven forced fumbles since the start of 2010, the 26-year-old Avril has earned a multi-year deal from the Lions.

As of early May, however, Avril and the Lions were at an "impasse" in contract talks.

If the Lions want to keep Avril around long term, there's no better time than this offseason to get a deal done. While 11 sacks last season has certainly put Avril on the radar, his price could skyrocket next offseason with around a 10-plus sack season.

At that point, the Lions could face the possibility of losing one of the young and up-and-coming rushers next summer.

Both sides have a need to get a deal done, which could increase the chances of Avril getting what he deserves before the start of the 2012 season.