Jerry Lee Rice Jr. (born July 27, 1991) is an American former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...

and

UNLV Rebels The UNLV Rebels are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). The Rebels compete in the NCAA Division I (NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Footb ...

. He was signed by the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2014, but did not play in an NFL game. Rice is the son of

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...

receiver

Jerry Rice Jerry Lee Rice (born October 13, 1962) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played for 20 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He won three Super Bowl titles with the San Francisco 49ers before two shorter ...

Early life and college

Rice was born in

Atherton, California Atherton ( ) is an incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States. Its population was 6,823 as of July 2023 estimates. The town's zoning regulations permit only one single-family home per acre in new subdivisions, though smal ...

and graduated from

Menlo School Menlo School, commonly referred to as just Menlo, is a private college preparatory school in Atherton, California, United States. The school comprises a middle school, grades 6–8, with approximately 230 students and a high school, grades 9–1 ...

. He played college football at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

, graduating with a bachelor's degree in June 2013. He decided to forgo his final year of eligibility with the

Bruins Bruin, (from Dutch for "brown"), is an English folk term for brown bear. Bruin, Bruins or BRUIN may also refer to: Places * Lake Bruin, ox-bow lake of the Mississippi River located in northeastern Louisiana ** Lake Bruin State Park * Bruin, K ...

to earn his master's degree at the

University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the ...

, where he also played football with the

Rebels A rebel is a participant in a rebellion. Rebel or rebels may also refer to: People * Rebel (given name) * Rebel (surname) * Patriot (American Revolution), during the American Revolution * American Southerners, as a form of self-identification; ...

Professional career

Washington Redskins

After his college career, Rice had a try out for the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

, but wasn't signed. Rice also tried out for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

, his father's former team. On June 26, 2014, he signed a contract with the

. On August 1, he suffered a torn labrum in training camp. Two days later, the Redskins waived him with an injury designation. After clearing waivers, he was placed on the Redskins'

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

. On May 4, 2015, he was waived by the Redskins.

Montreal Alouettes

Rice was signed to the practice roster of the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

on October 8, 2015. On June 14, 2016, he was released by the Alouettes.

Personal life

Rice is the second oldest of four children and the son of

and older brother of Brenden Rice. He is also the

second cousin A cousin is a relative who is the child of a parent's sibling; this is more specifically referred to as a first cousin. A parent of a first cousin is an aunt or uncle. More generally, in the kinship system used in the English-speaking world, ...

Jordan Matthews Jordan Armand Matthews (born July 16, 1992) is an American professional football tight end. He played college football for the Vanderbilt Commodores and was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2014 NFL draft. Matthew ...

, who also became an NFL receiver.

References

External links

UNLV Rebels football bioUCLA Bruins football bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rice, Jerry Jr. 1991 births Living people American football wide receivers Canadian football wide receivers Montreal Alouettes players Sportspeople from Atherton, California Players of American football from San Mateo County, California UCLA Bruins football players UNLV Rebels football players Washington Redskins players Players of Canadian football from California