Rice won't commit to Ravens' offseason program

Ray Rice hasn't signed his one-year, $7.7 million tender as the Ravens' franchise player, and the running back declined to commit when asked if he'll report to the start of the team's offseason program April 16 without a new long-term contract.

"Me and my agent (Todd France) have been going over things," Rice told NFL Network. "We're going to figure out what's best going forward. Whatever decision we make, you gotta protect yourself out there. I look forward to being there. As far as we know, we look forward to being there, maybe under some terms, whether I sign the tag or not. But I want to be there. I like to be around my guys."

While Matt Forte continues to be frustrated by the lack of a deal with the Bears, Houston's Arian Foster and Seattle's Marshawn Lynch received big free-agent deals among running backs this offseason.

"I think progress is being made," Rice said. "It's one of those things. I didn't set the bar for what running backs get. Obviously, they got what they deserved. I played my contract out. I took the franchise tag. What it's going to do is buy time, and hopefully we come out with a number that's fair to both sides. But at the same time, the number was set. It wasn't set by me."

At the owners meetings in Florida last week, Ravens coach John Harbaugh said he isn't concerned about how much of the offseason program Rice may miss.

"It'll be the same level of maturity," Harbaugh said at the owners meetings Tuesday of how Rice handled the final year of his rookie contract in 2011. "I don't know what their strategy will be. Don't even know if they feel they need a strategy. It kind of goes back to the agent more than the player.

"But Ray Rice is a man. He loves football. He wants to be in there with his teammates. I hope he's there from day one. I'm expecting him to be there from day one. But if he's not, I'm not going to hold it against him as a coach. We just need the best Ray Rice that's possible in the first game."

France met with team officials at the NFL Scouting Combine last month and continues to have dialogue with the team.

"I'm getting positive vibes about how things are going," said Harbaugh. "That doesn't mean anything's imminent because it takes a long time. But very positive vibes about what's going on."

Under rules governing franchise players, the Ravens have until the middle of July to negotiate a long-term deal.

If a franchise player is unable to work out a long-term deal by July 15, then the player can only play under the terms of their one-year tender for the upcoming season.

"We will continue to have open dialogue and see if we can come to a long-term agreement, which is the preference for both sides," France said at the Combine.

The Ravens have a history of working out deals with players after using the franchise tag, including former cornerback Chris McAlister, Pro Bowl outside linebacker Terrell Suggs and Pro Bowl defensive tackle Haloti Ngata.

Said Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome at the Combine, "As we have in the past, placing the franchise designation on a player allows us to keep negotiating on a long-term contract. Our goal is to keep Ray Rice a Raven. We've done this with other outstanding players through our history, including Haloti Ngata a year ago."