No one knows more about quarterback battles than Jerry Rice.
Rice, a Hall of Famer who is widely regarded as the greatest receiver of all time, was at the center of the most controversial quarterback controversy ever between future Hall of Famers Joe Montana and Steve Young. That situation makes Rice uniquely qualified to give his perspective on the current situation in Pittsburgh, as Russell Wilson may possibly replace Justin Fields as the Steelers‘ starting quarterback in the upcoming Week 7 game against the New York Jets.
“We believed that whoever they put under center, you had to make that person the best football player he could be on the football field,” Rice said during a recent one-on-one interview with CBS Sports. “Everything I learned with Joe Montana, I had to put on the back burner to adjust to Steve Young to bring out the best in him. I was always able to make adjustments to whoever they put under center.
“I know they’re going through it in Pittsburgh. It’s not about picking sides or anything like that. It’s that you have to make that individual better under center. If you look at it that way, it’s going to play out the best way possible.”
Rice’s transition from Montana to Young was seamless. Rice’s time with Montana included two Super Bowl wins, a Super Bowl MVP award and a bevy of records that included recording the most touchdown receptions in a single season, the most receiving yards and the most touchdown receptions in a single Super Bowl.
His partnership with Young was just as prolific. The duo connected on an NFL-record 119 touchdowns. They also won a Super Bowl together as Rice became the career Super Bowl leader in receptions, yards and touchdown catches.
His name may be associated with records, but Rice’s greatest memory from his playing day has nothing to do with the history books.
“It was against the Los Angeles Rams,” Rice recalled while alluding to a 1989 game between the 49ers‘ division rival. “John Taylor had two slant routes that he took to the house, and guess who was blocking on both of those touchdowns? I was like a little kid in a candy store because I never actually got that opportunity, and here I am trying to block so John Taylor can get in the end zone and score.”
Rice’s toughness is one of the things that undoubtedly made him the most prolific skill player in NFL history. He sees a similar quality in current 49ers receiver Jauan Jennings, who has parlayed his success in last year’s Super Bowl into the 2024 season.
“He’s a playmaker, man,” Rice said of Jennings. “He does the dirty work, you know what I’m saying? You always need a guy like that on your team that you know is going to make a play. He was doing some exceptional things last year in the Super Bowl. I actually felt like, if we had won that football game, he would have probably been the MVP. He wants to be that playmaker and he wants to show it on the football field.”
Rice said that he sees parallels between himself and Jennings.
“He’s not afraid to go across the middle,” Rice said of Jennings. “And the thing is, I wanted to be in the background, but I couldn’t be because of what I was doing on the football field. I’ve never been the type to want to be in the limelight, and he’s the same way. He just goes about his business. He does his job. You don’t see him in the limelight that often, but when he’s on the football field, he’s making plays to keep the ball moving.
“I think he’s gaining more and more confidence in Brock Purdy, and Brock knows that, ‘Hey, I can go to this guy and he can make that catch.'”
Including the playoffs, Rice caught a record 1,700 passes in his career. One of his favorite was his touchdown catch late in the first half of the 1994 NFC Championship game. Along with the catch extending the 49ers’ lead just before halftime, the fact that it came against the Cowboys (and specifically cornerback Larry Brown, who had previously boasted that he “owns” Rice) made the play extra special.
“Those guys, they had been talking noise,” Rice said of the Cowboys. “I was never the type to talk noise, but the best way to shut defensive backs up was to score. Bill Walsh always told me, ‘Just don’t retaliate. Just score touchdowns. Hand the ball to your official and celebrate with your teammates.'”
That play likely compelled Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to sign then-49ers cornerback Deion Sanders to a record contract the following season in an effort to shift the rivalry back in Dallas’ favor. While he admitted that he had trouble sleeping at night before facing Sanders (Sanders admitted the same to Rice, according to the latter), Rice relished the opportunity to go up against one of the greatest defensive backs the game has ever seen.
“I implemented a lot of my conditioning,” Rice said when asked about his matchups against Sanders. “If it was a run play, I was still sprinting 60 or 70 yards downfield and he was chasing me thinking it was a pass, and just doing it over and over.
“Deion, he was one of the fastest defensive backs on the field, so you had to come to the line of scrimmage with a plan. I was gonna double, triple move him, get him on his base and get to my route. When you’ve got a fast guy like that, you’ve got to pretty much initiate. He won some battles. I’d like to think that I won the majority of the battles. It was the ultimate challenge where you wanted to go up against the best and you wanted to see what you were capable of.”
Rice was decades ahead of his time as far as his production. But his answer when asked how productive he’d be in today’s game might surprise you.
“To be honest with you, I don’t know because it’s a totally different game now,” he said. “Everything is more condensed. There’s not that big-play opportunity because you don’t spread the field out as much. We always spread the field. We wanted the big play. And now, everything is a little more jammed up, and that’s why you see a lot more short passes.”
Rice still has a passion for the game that is matched only by his drive to help others. That’s why he has teamed up with FedEx and their ongoing initiative to donate to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). For the first time, receivers and tight ends are eligible to win the award.
“The one wide receiver award I missed out on,” said Rice, who encourages fans to vote for their favorite players on a weekly basis. “I wish they had this back in the day. … Coming from an HBCU, it was something I’ll never forget, being at Mississippi Valley State University. FedEx is donating the Player of the Week winner $2,000 to whichever HBCU school that player wants that money to go to. FedEx is also giving $100,000 toward scholarships to students every year.
“It was almost like the perfect marriage,” Rice said. “I love what they’re doing. I’m happy to team up with them.”
