Head Coach John Harbaugh was impressed with wide receiver Jerry Rice Jr..
Rice Jr. tried out for the Ravens during rookie minicamp but left without being signed.
Now he's heading to try out in the place his father became a Hall of Famer and the best wide receiver of all time – San Francisco. He'll try to convince the other Harbaugh brother to give him a shot.
"Working for the next opportunity," Rice Jr. wrote on Twitter. "Appreciate the Ravens for getting my feet wet... Now preparing for #49ers this weekend.. Leggo!"
The 5-foot-11, 185-pounder out of UNLV got kind words from Harbaugh after his three days of practice. He made a few nice catches and showed good burst. Rice Jr. was also a quick learner of the playbook, a nod to growing up with football.
"Yeah, I’ll tell you, Jerry Rice, Jr. has done a nice job," Harbaugh said. "First of all, he is a really good athlete. He doesn't have his dad's size, but he's sure got his athleticism. When you watch him run, he runs in a real similar way."
Rice Jr. spoke with WNST after leaving the Ravens, who he called a "very classy organization" and expressed his gratitude for giving him a shot. The Ravens were the first team that called Rice Jr. after the draft.
"I know there is a business aspect to it and I know they already had a lot of spots filled, but they told me that I'm on their emergency contact list," Rice Jr. said. "In case anyone gets injured they'll come find me and we'll get back to work."
Rice Jr. wasn't expecting to be drafted after notching just 11 catches for 86 yards in his final season at UNLV. He's had to work to continue playing football, including previously walking on at UCLA.
Bouncing to another tryout is not a surprise. He said his mindset coming into the NFL was that catching on somewhere would be a process.
"Keep working hard for the next opportunity; that's what I'll continue to do," Rice Jr. said. "Hopefully this time will be better. The Ravens gave me positive feedback, so I'm going to take it, hone in on my mistakes and go on to the next stage.
"My dad, in his first year as a rookie with the 49ers, he wasn't a Hall of Famer already. You forget that there's a process to becoming a great player."
