The Facts: Rice hasn't played an NFL game since Dec. 29, 2013, and knows the clock is ticking against him at age 28 -- dangerously close to date of expiration for most running backs. In a sit down with ESPN's Jemele Hill, Rice remained optimistic when asked to assess his NFL future. "I have a lot of hope and faith that I'll be able to hang 'em up the right way," he said in an interview that aired Tuesday. "That's what's keeping me going. That's what's keeping me working. My wife and my kid believe in me. They're pushing me harder sometimes than I can push myself. I just want to give it all."

Diehards Line:Rice continues to be appropriately contrite, and he told Hill that he pondered suicide for a period after elevator video of Rice knocking his wife out became a national story. ... Meanwhile, the news involving Arian Foster's groin injury acted as a reminder on Tuesday that there will always be teams scouring the free-agent pile looking for help as the NFL season takes its inevitable toll. But will a team ever decide Rice is worth the baggage? That remains unclear.