T. J. Houshmandzadeh -- Ray Rice Deserves An Ass-Whooping ... If He Struck Fiancee

If Ray Rice actually laid one finger on his fiancee, he deserves a serious ass-beating ... so says his former Baltimore Ravens teammate T.J. Houshmandzadeh.

T.J. -- who played with Ray back in 2010 -- tells TMZ Sports ... he was "completely floored" when he learned Ray had been arrested for allegedly attacking his fiancee.

"He didn't come across as a guy that would do something like that."

Housh -- who has 3 daughters -- says the footage of Ray dragging his fiancee around the casino "like a sack of potatoes" doesn't help Ray's case ... and if he actually K.O.'d her, as he's been accused of doing, Ray should pay.

"Now I look at it like, 'What if that's my child?' If that's my child, I'm whooping his ass. Or if I cant, I'll find somebody that can or something that can."

T.J. says he'll reserve judgement until all the facts are out ... and still believes Ray is a good dude ... but notes, "You don't know what people do on their own time."