Now-former Tennessee Titans linebacker Monty Rice did his best Jaleel Johnson impression after the team waived him on Tuesday.
The Jaleel Johnson reference comes from the defensive lineman tweeting his frustration with the Titans after his being waived last month. Surprisingly, Tennessee ended up him bringing him back and he has since apologized.
After being let go, Rice took to X to say that not only was he happy that the Titans let him go, he also believes he was better than what we saw of him on the field and encouraged everyone to put on the tape and see for themselves.
Hat tip to AtoZ Sports’ Sam Phalen for the screen shots of Rice’s tweets, which we couldn’t view because the linebacker has us blocked on X.
Well then… pic.twitter.com/NnUU6Xha91
— The Titans Wire (@TheTitansWire) December 5, 2023
Rice’s tenure with the Titans was a major disappointment after he was selected in the third round of the 2021 NFL draft out of Georgia.
Rice failed to break through to a full-time starting role over his first two seasons, at least partly because he was stuck behind some good players. When he did see the field on defense, he wasn’t very effective.
The 2023 campaign was supposed to be the year that Rice ascended to a starting role after the team parted ways with David Long and had just one sure starter at the position in Azeez Al-Shaair.
Instead, Rice was absent for a chunk of the preseason, and while we know it was not injury-related, no exact reason was given.
#Titans LB Monty Rice said it's not been injury that's kept him off field since playing a few snaps against Minnesota in first preseason game.
The reason? "Life. Life and God. That’s the best way to put it.”— John Glennon (@glennonsports) August 28, 2023
Jack Gibbens ended up winning the starting job over the Georgia product, who was relegated to mostly special teams duty until Week 10, when he began seeing regular snaps on defense.
That continued through Week 12, but the 24-year-old saw a dip in playing time in Week 13. Clearly the Titans didn’t see enough out of him with those opportunities.
This isn’t the first time Rice has taken to X to air grievances.
During the offseason, he voiced his displeasure with criticism of his coverage and those he perceived showed him “disrespect” in their analysis of him.
Rice will now go to waivers, where he can be claimed on Wednesday. If no team claims him, he’ll be able to sign with any team, although I think it’s safe to assume a return to Tennessee’s practice squad is off the table.
But after what we saw with Jaleel Johnson, never say never.
