It’s an enduring fact of life in the NFL: If a player has talent, a team will find a place for him, no matter how bad his off-the-field profile might be.

Ray Rice is putting that maxim to the test, as much for the deed he did as the fact that it was documented in a video that will be available forever.

After suspending him indefinitely, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell left the door open for Rice’s return, telling CBS, “We would have to make sure that we are fully confident that he is addressing this issue. Clearly, he has paid a price for the actions that he has already taken.”

Second chances are nothing new in the NFL. The most notable recent case involved Michael Vick’s return after serving what amounted to a two-year suspension for running a dogfighting ring — a crime for which he served 18 months in prison.

There was no video evidence in the Vick case as visceral and direct as what’s available in Rice’s case.

That, along with the obvious — Vick was torturing dogs while Rice landed a punch to his fiancee’s face — are the key differences that will make Rice’s road back that much more difficult, says crisis-management expert Jonathan Bernstein. Bernstein says any thoughts Rice is giving to rehabilitating his public image should be focused on things outside the football field.

“I’d say, you go deep under cover, stay out of the public eye,” Bernstein said. “Let it be known through other people what you’re doing to rehabilitate your behavior, then, ultimately, start getting involved in charitable things and other do-good efforts to show you care about this issue.”

Time does allow people to forgive and forget, Bernstein says. But he adds that it is hard to imagine any team signing a player whose reputation is forever sullied by a video that will show up every time his name is typed in on Google.