Ray Rice -- Breaks Silence ... 'I Have To Be Strong for My Wife'

Ray Rice is now talking about how he's handling the fall-out in the wake of the brutal elevator video ... saying, "I have to be strong for my wife."

One day after Ray was cut from the Ravens and suspended by the NFL, Rice opened up to ESPN ... telling the network, "[Janay] is so strong. We are in good spirits."

Ray continued, "We have a lot of people praying for us and we’ll continue to support each other. I have to be there for [Janay] and my family right now and work through this.”