When he heard the Baltimore Ravens agreed to a $120.6 million contract with Joe Flacco this weekend, running back Ray Rice was ecstatic that the two offensive leaders would be back together to work toward defending their Super Bowl victory.
Breer: The rising price of QBs
The recent restructuring of two quarterbacks' salaries indicates a problem that's not going away, Albert Breer writes. **More ...**
"Joe sat back and let it handle itself, and it all worked out in the end," Rice told The Baltimore Sun on Sunday at a charity event. "I'm glad he's done so he can be there in the offseason. Me and him will be there to lead this offense again."
Rice, who worked out away from the team last offseason before signing his contract extension in July, joked that with the new deal, he expects Flacco to pick up a few more dinner tabs.
"Every week, we're going out to eat," Rice said. "Seriously, I couldn't be more proud of the guy. He's been through a lot of scrutiny. The other quarterbacks can say what they want, but it's a right-now league. Check the playoff stats out -- Joe Flacco is the MVP."
Rice wasn't the only Raven thrilled for Flacco.
Safety Ed Reed joined "NFL AM" on Monday morning and said he was happy for his quarterback.
"AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!" was the one-word exclamatory text linebacker Terrell Suggs sent NFL.com's Albert Breer Sunday night.
Running back Bernard Pierce doesn't see the big money changing the blue-collar quarterback.
"Joe earned it, of course, and money won't change people," Pierce told The Baltimore Sun. "I'm certain he'll be the same. It's just nice to see somebody on our team get paid, and that they take care of their own."
Follow Kevin Patra on Twitter @kpatra.
