became the Rams’ all-time leader in receiving yards (10,461), passing his position coach Henry Ellard (9,761). That year Bruce made seven receptions for 116 yards in the NFC Divisional Playoff Game vs. Carolina on January 10, 2004, making him the only Rams player to have four career 100-yard postseason performances, breaking a tie with Tom Fears. In 2004, Bruce caught 89 passes (fifth in the NFC, eighth in the NFL) for 1,292 yards (fifth in the NFL). He started the season with four consecutive 100-yard receiving performances, the first player to accomplish this feat since Houston's Charley Hennigan in 1963. Bruce nabbed a team-high nine catches for 170 yards and one touchdown at Green Bay on November 29, 2004. With the retirement of Jerry Rice, Bruce entered 2005 as the NFL's active leader in career receiving yards; a foot injury caused him to miss 5 games, and he was passed by Marvin Harrison by the end of the season. Still, he became the 14th player in NFL history with 800 career receptions on December 11 at Minnesota. On March 7, 2006, the Rams released Bruce rather than pay him a $1.5 million bonus; however, five days after releasing him, the Rams agreed to a three-year, $15 million deal with Bruce. The re-signing freed a reported $7.5 million in cap money for the Rams. That season Bruce started 15 of 16 games and notched his eighth career 1,000-yard receiving season with 1,098 yards on 74 catches with three touchdowns. In 2007, Bruce caught 55 passes for 733 yards and 4 touchdowns, second on his team only to Torry Holt in all three categories. In Week 15, he retook the lead in career receiving yards among active players from Marvin Harrison, and in the same game passed James Lofton to become third on the all-time list. On February 28, 2008, Bruce was released by the Rams after refusing to take a pay cut, which the Rams promised they would not do in a previous contract renegotiation. San Francisco 49ers On February 29, 2008, Bruce signed a two-year, $6 million contract with the San Francisco 49ers, to reunite with his former offensive coordinator Mike Martz. Jerry Rice gave Bruce permission to wear the number 80 although the team had already retired it, however Bruce decided against it and instead wore 88. On December 21, 2008, in a game at St. Louis against his