NFL Wire Notes | Williams reinstated after 18 months
Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams was reinstated Wednesday by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell after serving a drug-related suspension that lasted more than a year and a half.
According to the NFL, Goodell informed Williams that he was immediately eligible to begin practicing and attending meetings with the Dolphins but cannot play in a game until the 12th week of the season, a Monday night game at Pittsburgh in 11 days. The Dolphins were given a two-week roster exemption for Williams that starts whenever he practices, beginning no later than Monday.
Williams applied for reinstatement Oct. 1. He was suspended in April 2006 for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy for a fourth time. That one-year suspension was extended when Williams reportedly tested positive for marijuana in April.
Williams’ representatives said that Williams is scheduled to travel to South Florida and meet with first-year coach Cam Cameron today. The winless Dolphins have a desperate need for help at running back with Ronnie Brown sidelined by season-ending knee surgery. But Cameron previously expressed wariness about Williams, a Heisman Trophy winner in college and former NFL rushing champion. Cameron said in May that “the easiest predictor of future behavior is previous behavior.”
Cameron had a short telephone conversation with Williams and later told reporters he hadn’t made a decision about whether to allow the running back to rejoin the team.
If the Dolphins do welcome back Williams, he might be playing with a rookie quarterback. Cameron promoted John Beck, a second-round draft choice in April from Brigham Young, to the starting job ahead of Cleo Lemon.
The Dolphins will take an 0-9 record into Sunday’s game at Philadelphia. They are trying to avoid becoming the first team to go winless over a 16-game season.
Notes
• Dwight Freeney’s season is over, and now Simeon Rice has a chance to start anew in Indianapolis.
Freeney, the three-time Pro Bowl defensive end and highest-paid defender in the league, was placed on injured reserve by the Colts. He’s scheduled to undergo surgery later this week or early next week on his injured left foot.
“Dwight is a player you cannot replace,” former Pro Bowl safety Bob Sanders said. “But we’ll continue to move on, continue to get better. We’ll put new guys in and continue to roll. That’s what Dwight would want us to do.”
• Two years after being unceremoniously displaced as the Baltimore Ravens’ starting quarterback, Kyle Boller is again in charge of running the offense. He worked with the first team at practice and will seek to rejuvenate Baltimore’s stagnant offense Sunday against the Cleveland Browns.
• Pro Bowl middle linebacker Antonio Pierce missed the New York Giants practice with a mild concussion.
• Oakland quarterback Daunte Culpepper will move back into the starting role in time to face his original NFL team, the Minnesota Vikings.
“When you go to a place that you played before obviously emotion is going to be a part of it,” Culpepper said. “But the main thing is I have to try to keep an even keel even though I know it’s going to be crazy. But I’m looking forward to it.”
• Washington receiver Brandon Lloyd broke his collarbone and will be sidelined at least six weeks.
• San Francisco nose tackle Aubrayo Franklin will miss the next four weeks after straining his right calf in the 49ers’ loss at Seattle on Monday night.