Former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice has been reinstated by the National Football League (NFL) to potentially play this season.

What this means for Rice and the NFL is still up the air.

As a society that likes to view itself as forgiving and willing to give second chances, I could see Rice on an NFL roster before the end of the season.  Perhaps more importantly, with the NFL being all about winning, I believe Rice will be signed and he should be signed.

In case you were under a rock, or simply don’t pay attention to ESPN and the NFL, the beginning of the season was clouded by the allegations that Rice had struck his fiancé, now wife, in an Atlantic City casino.  The response from the NFL and the Baltimore Ravens organization was fickle, and Rice was suspended only when the actual video of the abuse arose, perhaps mostly due to the public backlash coming from the image that video provided.

While acknowledging that what Rice did was a horrendous act, we have to understand that in late November, the only priority an NFL team really has is winning the next game and making it to the playoffs. I believe this mentality will ultimately beat out the fact that there will be public outcry wherever Rice ends up playing.

In a similar situation a few years ago, we saw the Philadelphia Eagles sign Michael Vick despite a large fan backlash that included protests and boycotting of Eagles games. Of course, as in most situations where everyday people are enraged, the protests and backlash slowed down and eventually ended – particularly when Vick began winning games for the Eagles.

Four teams, including the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints, have expressed interest in signing Rice.  Late in the NFL season, every team is facing injuries, specifically backfield injuries involving running backs. Despite not playing and coming off a down year, Rice provides an interesting option.

Personally, I’m all for teams being interested in and signing Rice. Judgment has been passed on Rice both from the courts and the NFL. He has come out and spoke of the incident and has apologized. The NFL has since reformed its policy regarding domestic violence and has shown that it will not hesitate to take high-profile players and put them in their place (see: Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings).

Ultimately, we have to decide individually whether or not we are willing to forgive people for their worst actions. I understand that for some, Rice’s actions are unforgiveable and he will never garner the full fan support he has had in the past. That being said, I’m willing to forgive Rice, especially if he is truly apologetic for what he has done and he is receiving the help he needs, whether it being counseling, anger management or something else.

While we do it far too often, we should not judge individuals based upon the worst day of their lives. We have all had times in which we have done things we would come to regret.  Nobody is innocent of this. We’ve all said and done things we instantly want to take back. If our employment was based upon the worst of us individually, unemployment rates would be closer to triple digits than single digits.

Ultimately, I believe Rice will be signed. While he will never personally be able to have the life and career he did before these events, he will produce on an NFL roster, and as we’ve seen with other NFL stars with questionable pasts – winning cures all.