Cleveland Browns head coach Mike Pettine has revealed that the club have talked about the possibility of signing free agent running back Ray Rice.

The 28-year-old has been out of the game since last year when he was released by the Baltimore Ravens and suspended by the NFL after a video emerged of him striking his wife - then-fiancee – in a hotel in Atlantic City.

Rice was reinstated by the league last October, but no team took the decision to sign him during the 2014 season. However, Pettine has admitted that the presence of Wilbert Montgomery – Rice's position coach at the Ravens – could make a move possible.

"We've talked about it, but I don't think we're there at this point," Pettine told reporters.

"Of course it's a natural question here because of Wilbert, and because I was with Ray when he was a Ravens rookie and know a lot of people in Baltimore.

"Obviously Wilbert was his position coach for Ray's first six years in the league. I'm not going to say it didn't come up in discussion, but at this point we're not there yet."

Rice has recorded 6,180 rushing yards and 37 touchdowns in his six seasons in the NFL.