Overnight in water is too long. Even overnight without water is too long, but you may get away with it.
I feed a lot of large and XL rats and they completely thaw in 3-4 hours, sometimes 5 hrs for really large XL. And that is without water.
For me, the best thaw procedure is to thaw in the fridge for 24 hrs. Again, it may take longer on the larger ones. That way if I get busy and forget about the rats there is no harm. The rats will easily keep fresh for two days in the fridge.
When I was feeding pups and smalls, they were completely thawed in the fridge overnight.
Feeding stiff rats is just asking for a regurgitation and other possible health problems as well.
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