As Ray Rice faces his third season out of football, he understands his window to play in the NFL again is coming to a close.
"I'm training, but I'm more training for life," Rice said via nj.com. "I think it's safe to say that football ... I don't want to ever say I'm giving up, because that's never going to be me ... I'm happy. I'm in the best shape of my life, and I know if it doesn't happen this year, it's probably something I have to deal with. But you know what? It's not the end of my life.
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"I know that the window for playing is closing. But if my window closes, I'm going to make sure I open up a thousand more opportunities for kids, to give them an opportunity to pick up where I left off. That's where I'm at. I've got three Pro Bowls and a Super Bowl. There's a lot of people that can't go out there and do what I did. But I don't want it to end that way, it's safe to say."
The former Baltimore Ravens star was cut by the team in 2014 after a video surfaced of him punching his then-fiancee, now-wife Janay Rice in an Atlantic City casino elevator. He was arrested for the assault.
Rice, 29, has been unable to find a team willing to take him in after the disturbing incident. Though NFL players run into various legal situations and get second chances, Rice has not been as fortunate.
According to the report, Rice said he will be "going around to different colleges throughout the summer, telling my whole story," to other teams, as well as mentoring kids.
"It's safe to say football is going to be part of my life," Rice said, "from now until I'm old and gray."