Jerry Rice and The Seattle Seahawks

Reached at home Monday night, Rice said: "Nah, I haven't heard anything, man. Look, I'm really busy. I've got to go. I'm hanging Halloween stuff up with the kids."

Rice will be back soon for a visit. The Seahawks have a game against the 49ers at Monster Park on Sunday, Nov. 7.

The deal reunites Rice with his onetime 49ers offensive coordinator, Mike Holmgren, now Seattle's coach, and ends his three-year run with the Raiders. Rice spent his first 16 seasons with the 49ers, the team that drafted him out of Mississippi Valley State in 1985.

Rice, who turned 42 last week, led Oakland with 63 receptions for 869 yards last season but was shoved aside by new coach Norv Turner, who chose to go with a younger receiver corps.

In six games under Turner, Rice caught only five passes for 67 yards.

Asked about the challenge of trading a player who had such unspectacular numbers, Turner said earlier Monday: "It's not a challenge. If it does get done, I would think it's with someone who is very familiar with him and has known him."

Holmgren is a disciple of Bill Walsh and his West Coast offense. Walsh first spotted Rice while watching the receiver's college play on TV the night before a 49ers game and made sure the 49ers drafted him.

Teaming with Joe Montana and then with Steve Young, Rice rewrote the NFL record book. He holds 13 records and has received 13 Pro Bowl invitations. He has played in four Super Bowl games, winning three, and was the MVP of Super Bowl XXIII after torching Cincinnati for a record 215 yards in 11 receptions.

Now Rice is a Seahawk.

"I didn't think it was going to happen," Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck told the Everett (Wash.) Herald on Monday night. "I mean, I grew up watching the guy. We've got really talented receivers already -- even a couple of guys on the practice squad. But they must really like him."
Seattle (3-2) had a need for a receiver in the aftermath of a weekend report that the NFL would suspend Koren Robinson for violating its substance-abuse policy.

"I had our pro personnel people look at Jerry," Holmgren told Seattle-area reporters earlier Monday. "We're exploring it."

Rice has been unhappy since the opener in Pittsburgh on Sept. 12. His record streak of catching at least one pass in a game ended at 274 a week later against Buffalo, and things only got worse.
He has gone without a reception in three games this season and has seen only one pass thrown to him in the past two weeks, despite his team's struggles.

The Raiders threw a combined 75 passes in losing to Indianapolis 35-14 on Oct. 10 and to Denver 31-3 on Sunday. The only pass thrown to Rice was a desperation heave from Kerry Collins as he scrambled from pressure.

"I can't give you an explanation in terms of why it has come up that way," Turner said Monday.
Rice, who went public last week with his desire to play elsewhere, had little to say at the Raiders' Alameda headquarters earlier Monday.

"My day is done," he said. "I'm going home to take care of some kids."
After the Raiders' loss Sunday, he said: "Today was a hard day to swallow. I just want to play. I want to be involved. I want to be a part of it."

Monday, he got his wish.

NFL Legend Jerry Rice Finds a New Home in Seattle

After more than 19 NFL seasons, Jerry Rice is leaving the Bay Area.

The disgruntled wide receiver was traded Monday night to the Seattle Seahawks, the Raiders announced in an e-mail. The deal won't be completed until the league approves it and Rice passes a physical.

The Raiders didn't say what compensation they will receive for the NFL's all-time leading receiver, but several media outlets, using anonymous sources, reported that Seattle would give up a conditional seventh-round draft pick. The Raiders are planning to hold a news conference today.