HONOLULU, HI - SUNDAY, JANUARY 31: The Pro Bowl logo on a football during the second half of the 2016 NFL Pro Bowl at Aloha Stadium on January 31, 2016 in Honolulu, Hawaii.Team Irvin defeated Team Rice 49-27. (Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)

"Growing sense" this 3-time Pro Bowler will return to the NFL this season

An ESPN reporter says he's heard this guy could be headed back to the NFL.

It's been nearly three years since Ray Rice played in an NFL game, but he may return to the field this year according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

RELATED: Former Baltimore Ravens RB Ray Rice speaks to FSU football team

Rice made the Pro Bowl three times from 2008-2013 with the Ravens, but his career was derailed by fallout after a video showed him knocking out his fiancée.

Rice has stayed in shape since he was cut in 2014, and the league is supposedly impressed by how Rice has acted since the video was released. He's even offered to give his entire 2016 salary to charity if he's signed by an NFL team this season.

Schefter also writes that since player contracts are not guaranteed after Week 1, Rice could be seen as a good pickup for some teams if they have injury problems at running back.

The question remains if Rice could make any actual contribution to an NFL team. In 2013, he ran for 660 yards in 15 games and averaged 3.1 yards per carry — a far cry from his career best 5.3 yards per carry in 2009.