Pats Pulpit
Previewing the Patriots linebacker and special teamer heading into his first season in New England.
The New England Patriots’ roster experienced some massive turnover over the last few months, with one third of 2024’s final roster no longer with the team heading into 2025. Among those who did manage to stay put is a player with plenty of familiarity with new head coach Mike Vrabel, linebacker and special teamer Monty Rice.
Name: Monty Rice
Position: Off-ball linebacker/Special teamer
Jersey number: 45
Opening day age: 26 (1/8/1999)
Measurements: 6’0 3/8”, 233 lbs, 75” wingspan, 30 3/4” arm length, 8 5/8” hand size, 4.58s 40-yard dash, 7.34s 3-cone drill, 4.33s short shuttle, 32” vertical jump, 10’1” broad jump, 7.20 Relative Athletic Score
NFL: Tennessee Titans (2021-23), New Orleans Saints (2023), Atlanta Falcons (2024), New England Patriots (2024-) | College: Georgia (2017-20)
Rice received almost two dozen scholarship offers as a three-star recruit out of James Clemens High School in Madison, AL. He initially committed to LSU but later flipped to Georgia, where he spent the entirety of his four-year college career. In four seasons as a Bulldog, he appeared in 47 games with 28 starts and registered 219 tackles, a pair of sacks, three forced fumbles and one recovery.
A first-team All-SEC selection as a senior in 2020, Rice was selected 92nd overall in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the Titans. However, a combination of injuries and uneven play prevented him from earning a regular role in Tennessee and led to him being released in December 2023. He later spent time in New Orleans and Atlanta without seeing any game action before joining the Patriots in November 2024.
In total, he has appeared in 36 games since entering the NFL. Rice started 11 of those contests and notched a combined 129 tackles between defense and special teams.
Strengths: Rice is a linear athlete at the second level, who has sufficient speed and range in pursuit and a quick and confident downhill trigger in the run game. He has the natural instincts needed to dissect blocking patterns and find his gaps, and provides the physicality needed to succeed at the point of attack. He also is a technically advanced wrap-up tackler with experience both as an off-ball linebacker as well as a four-unit special teamer.
Weaknesses: Standing at only 6 feet and 233 pounds, Rice is an undersized player whose overall athletic skillset is adequate at best. He is slow-footed making cuts and does not display the same level of comfort dropping back into coverage compared to attacking downhill versus the run. This, in turn, can lead to some hesitation in zone coverage, against misdirection concepts and when facing slightly advanced formations or route combinations.
Stats (Atlanta): 0 games
Stats (New England): 3 games (1 start) | 5 defensive snaps (0.5%), 42 special teams snaps (9.6%) | 1 special teams tackle, 1 missed tackle (50%)
Season recap: After...
