Jerry Rice is arguably the best wide receiver in the history of the NFL. The man has multiple Super Bowl championships under his belt and was practically a human highlight reel in his prime. To this day, some still consider Rice to be the greatest wide receiver to ever take the field.

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While he had a legendary career, much of that career was spent with the San Francisco 49ers. When it comes to the twilight of his career, people tend to forget about the other teams he played for, but one of the most fascinating was the Oakland Raiders (now the Las Vegas Raiders).

10 A Rivalry Caused Him To Join The Team

A lot of NFL fans may have forgotten the exact reason why Rice ended up joining the Raiders, but it really does seem to be due to a bit of a petty rivalry. He had been shown up by an impressive and record-breaking performance by Terrell Owens, something that ended up solidifying his move.

San Francisco seemed happy to continue with Owens, so Rice was more than happy to try his luck elsewhere. He would eventually sign with the Raiders, something that was filled with some rather unfortunate ups and downs for Rice.

9 He Was There For The Infamous Tuck Rule Game

When most people think about the infamous Tuck Rule Game, their minds snap straight to Tom Brady. Most people forget the other players that were on the field for that game, with one of them being Jerry Rice.

It’s probably fair to say that things wouldn’t have gone any differently if Rice wasn’t there. Still, for fans who believe the Raiders were robbed of a win in that game, it was probably nice to have Rice on the field for what should have been their win.

8 His Addition Made For One Of The Oldest Wide Receiver Pairs In The League

The NFL is filled with plenty of odd statistics, and that’s something that not even Jerry Rice was immune to. When he joined on to the Raiders, they also had Tim Brown at the wide receiver position someone who was also quite old (for players in the NFL).

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The two men made up what was one of the oldest pairs of wide receivers in NFL history thanks to Brown being 35 and Rice being in his late thirties. While the two men weren’t amazing together, they weren’t absolute slouches either.

7 He Broke A Walter Payton Record

It’s never a bad thing to break the record of someone like Walter Payton. That exact thing is what Jerry Rice managed to do in 2002 when he surpassed Payton to become the all-time leader in scrimmage yards.

The impressive record had Jerry Rice at 21,281 scrimmage yards, a number that would only continue to increase. To this day, Jerry Rice still holds this impressive record at 23,540 yards, something that likely won’t be beaten anytime soon. Few people have even managed to come close since.

6 He Earned His 200th Career Touchdown

While Rice set records and became a part of infamous games, he also hit an impressive milestone for any NFL player. While playing against the Denver Broncos, Rice managed to earn his 200th career touchdown.

That in itself seems like an impossible task for any single player to replicate. The only active player with a shot of getting past Rice’s 208 touchdowns is almost one hundred touchdowns behind him, making it likely that Rice will hold yet another accomplishment for quite some time with few people to even challenge him.

5 He Lost His First Super Bowl Game With The Team

Diehard Jerry Rice fans will know just how effective the man was in Super Bowl games. He was so skilled that he was even named a Super Bowl MVP. It’s that very level of skill that made it that much harder when Rice would lose an attempt at the Super Bowl for the first time.

The loss to the Buccaneers was said to be so hard on Rice that he actually ended up breaking down emotionally. It’s a hard pill to swallow, but even the all-time greats have to lose the big one from time to time.

4 He Only Scored 2 Touchdowns In The 2003 Season

Some people may be surprised that Rice scored his 200th of 208 career touchdowns while playing with the Raiders considering he would also go on to play for the Seahawks and, while he wouldn’t play he did also join the Broncos. That shock might go away once people realize he only scored two touchdowns in the 2003 season.

It was clear that his age was getting the better of him at that point. The fact that one of the all-time greats only managed to get two touchdowns in a season may come as a shock, but it is also worth mentioning that the Raiders as a whole were having a tough time.

3 He Received Some Serious Honours

When Rice made his move to the Raiders, there were already a lot of people that figured he was in the twilight of his career. There was no way he could continue to make a serious impact as a wide receiver at his age.

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Rice proved the nay-sayers wrong by having a fantastic 2002 season with the Raiders. His play was so good that he ended up being named to both the Pro Bowl team for the 13th time and the distinction of Second-team All-Pro.

2 2003 Was One Of The Worst Years Of His Career

While every NFL legend has had a bad season, it’s probably fair to say that 2003 was one of Rice’s worst. He only recorded two touchdowns in sixteen games and had some less-than-desirable stats across the board.

It is worth pointing out that, at that point, that would have put Rice in his forties while still playing as a wide receiver at the highest level of football. It was the true beginning of the end for one of the best players to ever take the field.

1 Frustrations Led To His Departure

It’s now no secret that Rice was struggling whenever he took the field for the Raiders toward the end of his time with the team. He ended up playing a portion of a season with the team, before leaving halfway through.

In six games, he hadn’t recorded a touchdown. Issues with both the management and with his place on the team resulted in Rice looking for success elsewhere. Eventually, Rice would end up on the Seahawks for a short time before signing with the Broncos and then retiring.