Ricky Williams mulling a comeback?

[KingPK 0]

Ricky Contacts Dolphins

 

MIAMI -- Retired running back Ricky Williams says he contacted the Miami Dolphins this week at the request of his agent but has no plans to rejoin the team anytime soon.

 

Williams didn't rule out a return but made it clear that given his contract and the state of the coaching staff, "It's not in my best interests to play football right now," he told The Miami Herald in a story published Wednesday night on the newspaper's Web site.

 

Oh please. Jordan took longer to come back. If the Dolphins cave in and bring him back, then they will have dethroned the Bengals for the worst organization in the NFL. Besides, if he does come back, then he should miss two years: one for the drug offenses, and another because he filed his retirement papers. I hope the guy gets his ass booed out of Pro Player.

[Fökai 0]

I thought that a third offense was just a four-game suspension?

[Guest Kageho]

He's been mulling coming back for awhile now. And btw, I don't really see him coming back, and even if he did, he's said a few times he would rather play for the Raiders when he gets back.

[Spaceman Spiff 0]

He'd only miss 1 year:

 

Retirement papers Williams filed with the NFL last month aren't binding. But because he was in the league's substance abuse program, he can't return for one year without penalty. Williams has said he's a three-time offender in the program, meaning the penalty would be a suspension that would prohibit him from playing this season.

 

Regardless, I don't see him coming back this year.

[Krankor 0]

This isn't at all surprising to me. I had a good feeling that he wouldn't stay away from Football long. He'll probably do the typical retire a year until he becomes a free agent and then go off and sign with another team that is more competitive.

[Mole 0]

Did he run out of weed in Asia already?

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

I thought that a third offense was just a four-game suspension?

It is, but he failed a 4th right after he retired. Therefore he is gone for the year.

[2GOLD 0]

Did he run out of weed in Asia already?

 

Lenny cut him off.

Turns out he was a Dolphins fan. Poor poor Ricky.

 

Wonder how much that "have to return 8 million dollars" effected his decision?

[Guest Anglesault]

That's down right Clemensian.

[Guest El Satanico]

Does anyone here actually read the articles? Off advice from his agent he contacted the Dolphins due to the signing bonus business and he made a point out of saying he's still not planning to return.

 

He'll return in a year or so, but still I swear none you read this shit. Also according to the ESPN article he was recently in Australia and is headed to India for a month or two.

[Mole 0]

That's down right Clemensian.

Not even close to the same thing.

[Guest Anglesault]

That's down right Clemensian.

Not even close to the same thing.

Kind of the opposite, actually, I guess.

 

Roger went on the fake retirement tour (where he lied about retiring for over a year) surpising no one when it looked like he would, and shocked everyone when he "unretired"

 

This guy seems to have shocked everyone with the retirement and not so much with the possible unretirement.

 

Edit: Anyone else notice that Debbie Clemens is hinting that this isn't Roger's last year? Of course, it's to the shock of roughly no one, the same amount who believed he was just coming back for "one more year"

Edited August 26, 2004 by Anglesault

[Guest Staravenger]

Wow, people are still bitter over Clemens? Face it, even if he did "stay" unretired with the Yankees, they would be the same they have always been. At least now he's on a worthless team that has no chance of a Playoff birth. Holding a grudge over someone you don't know personally is a little silly I think.

 

Sure, it wasn't a nice thing to do, but who says you have to be nice and honest all the time in sports? (unless its drug and alcohol abuse related)

[Guest Anglesault]

Holding a grudge over someone you don't know personally is a little silly I think.

So is leading the fans of baseball on for well over a year and expecting everyone to be okay with it. I heard he was genuinely surprised that some Yankee fans were pissed.

[Guest Staravenger]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, so I won't say who to like and who to not like. Honestly, I was upset about it...for about two minutes, then realized he would be on a team that sucked, so it wasn't like he turned his back and went to real contenders like the Red Sox or Angels.

 

Andy Pettitte though is a different case. "I want to be a Yankee forever" my ass.

[Guest Anglesault]

We're so running this thread off topic. I honestly intended to post one thing and leave. I could go on for days about Pettitte though, if you wanted to start a new thread.

[sfaJack 0]

Can't you bitter Yankee fans just think of it like karma biting Pettitte on the ass since his first year in Houston has pretty much been a disaster and get over it?

 

The Yankees are going to the playoffs, the Astros are not. Simple as that. It's not as if his leaving left a huge, gaping void that sucked the Yankees down into the shitter.

 

On topic: if I was the Dolphins, I'd tell Ricky "thanks, but no thanks...now give us that money" if he approached me about coming back. In the end, they're going to be better off without him. And who's to say he won't do this same thing again?

[Guest Staravenger]

Anyway, back to Ricky Williams...did his retirement even last a month and a half? Seemed like it was only a few weeks ago, but my memory is always playing games with me. If he comes back, good for him. I don't like the Dolphins, so if he goes back there I don't have to watch him.

[Guest MikeSC]

Anyway, back to Ricky Williams...did his retirement even last a month and a half? Seemed like it was only a few weeks ago, but my memory is always playing games with me. If he comes back, good for him. I don't like the Dolphins, so if he goes back there I don't have to watch him.

Why would a team sign a quitter? As Rome said, it's not him being flaky --- it's him being a quitter.

-=Mike

[Spaceman Spiff 0]

Well, he did say he'd like to play for the Raiders, so there's a chance he'd stick around for them. And Al Davis is never one to shy away from signing a risky player.

 

The best thing would be for the Dolphins to retain his rights, then try to work a trade w/ Oakland. Better that then losing him for nothing.

[Guest Flyboy]

I wonder who got the better end of that Miami-NO trade... hmmm..

[Spaceman Spiff 0]

Who did NO get out of that, anyway?

[lomasmoney 0]

basically duece mcallister and whatever the hell else they got which pretty much= Ricky Williams. A trade that worked out for both teams in my opinion.

 

I think that Yankees fans just need to quit bitching about Clemens and Pettite. They are gone and not coming back, and in the case of both men made decisions that were in their minds the best for them and their families

[Guest Anglesault]

I think that Yankees fans just need to quit bitching about Clemens and Pettite. They are gone and not coming back,

Did they both say they're not coming back?

[Guest Flyboy]

basically duece mcallister and whatever the hell else they got which pretty much= Ricky Williams. A trade that worked out for both teams in my opinion.

It would have worked out well for both if... y'know... Ricky was still a Dolphin.

[Guest Kaspar Kucera]

Who did NO get out of that, anyway?

 

They got 2 first round picks and a fourth rounder, which turned out to be: defensive end Charles Grant, tackle Jonathan Sullivan, and cornerback Keyuo Craver.

[Guest Vitamin X]

I saw a great article on this today..

 

Williams is loyal only to himself

 

By Paul Attner - SportingNews

 

Why should anyone be shocked Ricky Williams quit football? His timing surely stinks for the Dolphins and makes a mess of already-published preseason predictions. But he always has been one of the most selfish, unpredictable, purposely bizarre and more than slightly off-kilter athletes of recent times -- a man who doesn't think or act conventionally or care for one minisecond how his behavior and decisions might affect anyone around him.

 

It always has been all about Ricky. And this is just another carefully choreographed move to verify his cherished independence. You know the type: They fancy themselves as shining lights in a dull, walk-in-step world. They try too hard to be unique. Instead of looking brave, they look foolish.

 

Two years ago, in the midst of Williams' rebirth as a NFL running back with the Dolphins, one very smart football man told me, "Just wait; this guy is going to do something really ridiculous. Just wait."

 

That man was Randy Mueller, who, as the Saints' general manager, traded Williams to Miami in what now has become a steal of a deal for New Orleans. Mueller had spent two taxing years trying to figure out what made Williams tick. He didn't have a clue back then and still doesn't now. He is convinced, correctly, that athletes with pasts might say they will change -- and their new teams always agree -- but it just doesn't happen. What you see is what you get -- different uniform or not -- and the ultimate winner is the former employer, not the current writer of the paycheck.

 

So now Williams apparently has walked away from at least $3.6 million and destroyed the immediate future of a franchise, and it makes false all the previous conclusions that a social disorder was responsible for his history of weirdness. No question he had behavioral issues that medication helped alleviate. But the thought processes that clutter his mind and direct his paths never were beholden only to some formerly uncontrollable force. This is someone who willfully set out to be an individualist within a highly structured environment. Nothing wrong with that -- pro sports long has been able to accommodate different personalities -- as long as you accept as a priority that you are functioning within a team atmosphere.

 

But the Ricky Williams who now apparently is traveling somewhere in Asia is loyal to no one but himself. Here is what he told the Miami Herald: "I don't feel like I have to explain myself to anyone. All I end up doing anyway is giving rebuttals ... I don't want to do it anymore. ... If people really care about me, that would be enough for them."

 

Forget how his betrayal affects his teammates or the coaching future of Dave Wannstedt. Forget that it might have been more professional if he hadn't waited until just days before the start of training camp to board that plane. A few months more notice and Miami would have had a chance to find a decent replacement. If they had known evne a week ago, Eddie George might be looking for a home in south Florida. Or Antowain Smith.

 

But why should Williams care? The Dolphins have dared to expect him to train in the offseason and abide by team rules and, oh, yes, there's this little matter of a violation of the league's substance-abuse policy. Seems Williams failed a drug test, thanks to the presence of marijuana. It was his second such bad grade, and he faced a fine of at least $650,000 and the knowledge that more severe penalties, including suspension, loomed if he continued puffing away. What better way to rid himself of such nuisances than quit? Now he can do whatever he wants in his private life, and the NFL won't know. Quite a solution, that one.

 

In a world uncluttered by winning percentages and playoff successes, no club would ever be tempted to take on the troubles represented by Ricky Williams. But remember the Dolphins' situation two seasons ago. They had no running game, a fairly consistent issue for that franchise, and it seemed a back of Williams' caliber might be the perfect solution to win that elusive Super Bowl ring. So they did the mandatory background checks and somehow came up with the conclusion that Williams wouldn't be a bit of a problem, despite all his strangeness with the Saints. In desperation, it is easy to rationalize.

 

Now, they don't have Williams or any Super Bowl possibilities. They have two quarterbacks, Jay Fiedler and A.J. Feeley, who must be protected by a running game and an offense constructed on the notion that Williams would receive 350-plus carries. This makes Wannstedt a very sympathetic figure. This prince of a guy already has read notices of his poor job security; now he has to survive with Travis Minor -- or some veteran discard -- as his lead back. The list of individuals who ultimately will be cast aside, dragged down by the fallout from Ricky being Ricky, will be long and sad. Hey, but Williams was bored -- and he won't be back, at least until he craves attention again. We only can hope that he'll just be ignored.

 

Senior writer Paul Attner covers the NFL for Sporting News. Email him at [email protected].

[KingPK 0]

Who did NO get out of that, anyway?

 

They got 2 first round picks and a fourth rounder, which turned out to be: defensive end Charles Grant, tackle Jonathan Sullivan, and cornerback Keyuo Craver.

And let's see how those players currently are doing:

 

Keyuo Craver: 2 career tackles. Suspended four games last year and out for this season due to violations of the substance abuse policy.

 

Charles Grant: 32 games played (22 starts), 98 total tackles (80 solo), 17 sacks

 

Jonathan Sullivan: 14 games (13 starts), 34 total tackles (26 solo), 1 sack, 1 FF.

 

The two #1 picks have been solid, at least.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

Am I the only person in the world who praises Williams' decision to retire? I even like the Dolphins.

 

What I really hope he does though, is retire long enough to get Wannstedt's dumb ass fired, then come back.

[Guest El Satanico]

I also fully support his decision, football's just a game.