Ricky Williams returns to the Miami Dolphins today, after serving an 18th month suspension for drug usage. Coach of the Miami Dolphins, Cam Cameron decided to let Williams rejoin the team after they met earlier today (Thursday, November 15th, 2007).
"The meeting was positive," Cameron said. "He'll be a member of this team and will start with us Monday. He's a Miami Dolphin."
In the last year Cameron had continued to give no comment regarding whether he would want Williams to return after the NFL lifted his suspension, actually seeming less likely too before the summer . In May, when discussing Williams' latest relapse, Cameron said it was hard to save a players career who has been troubled with drug and addiction on numerous occasions. The chances for Williams' to be let back on the team seemed slim, but his suspension couldn't have ended at a better time. The Dolphins are 0-9 for the season, currently the least ranked NFL team and reinstating Williams doesn't sound like a bad idea right now.
Williams, who played college football at Texas, was originally drafted to New Orleans Saints, 5th pick in the 1999 draft. In 2002, Williams was traded to the Miami Dolphins for two first round picks and he was the leading rusher that year in the NFL with 1853 yards and named a Pro Bowler. We can only hope that his past stats can bring aid to the painful results we're seeing from the Dolphins this season.
The only discouraging factor is his reliability, Williams has failed to abide by the NFL drug policy for years. In 2004 Williams was diagnosed with depression and anxiety, and tested positive on 3 different occasions for marijuana which led him to announce an early retirement. He was out for the following year and his absence contributed to the teams low scoring year. The dolphins finished second to last in 2005, with a 4-12 record. He came back late in 2005 apologizing and jumped right back into training. After a 4th violation of the NFL drug policy in February 2005, the NFL suspended Williams for the entire 2006 season.
The Dolphins allowed Williams to play for the CFL's Toronto Argonauts during his suspension, with the terms that he return to the Dolphins when the suspension ended. Williams was required to take multiple drug tests by the NFL in order to return to the league for the 2007 season. He tested positive once again in May 2007 and applied for reinstatement in October and this brings us to today, where he was officially back on the Miami Dolphins roster. Although he isn't allowed to play until week 12, everyone is hoping he'll be able to help get a few wins for the depressing Dolphins.
Cameron said the entire team supports the decision to welcome back Williams on the roster, probably taking anything they can get to try and improve their win/loss record for the season. I think the entire fan base can't help but be somewhat excited for the extra hand being brought into play this season, we can only pray that he can stay clean long enough to help the Dolphins get out of the gutter.
