Miami Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown (the NFL player I have interviewed more times than any other—I lost track around five) won’t be running the Wildcat anymore. In fact, he won’t be running any plays. The Dolphins officially placed him on injured reserve today with what they were initially calling a foot injury. But more specifically, he has a Lisfranc fracture in the middle of his foot. He suffered the injury in last Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Bucs.
The injury is by no means career threatening, but it is severe enough to sideline Ronnie for a couple months, thus …read more

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast
After his tumultuous past, I never thought I’d see this day. But so happy are the Miami Dolphins with running back Ricky Williams, they signed him to a one-year contract extension through the 2009-10 season yesterday. Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland said the team wanted to extend Ricky’s deal so he didn’t become a free agent after this season:
“I wasn’t here in the past so I don’t really know if he had a lack of dedication in the past. I mean, I know what I read and I know what circulates in NFL circles. But when …read more

Blogcasting the National Football League, Blogcasting the NFL
Miami Dolphins RB Ricky Williams is doing everything he can to make sure his ongoing NFL comeback is a successful one. After playing in just 13 games the past three seasons, Ricky has yet to miss a workout during 11 weeks of a strictly regimented offseason program. And to hear him talk makes me wonder if this is the same Ricky Williams that smoked pot and acted “weird” while seemingly throwing away his National Football League career:
“This is the hardest I’ve worked. Coach Saban worked us pretty hard, but I think this new …read more

Blogging the National Football League, Blogging the NFL
It took Ricky Williams almost two years to get back into the NFL and in one-fell-swoop he’s out for the season. Against the Pittsburgh Steelers on MNF, Ricky gained 15 yards on six carries before tearing a chest muscle and leaving the game. I can’t say it was a bad idea for Ricky to be in this game. Then again, under the ridiculous conditions, it probably was a bad idea to have anyone in this game. In Ricky’s case, though, not having had any contact for such a long time, there was no …read more

Blogging the National Football League, Blogging the NFL
Ricky Williams‘ one-and-a-half year suspension ended today as he was reinstated to play in the National Football League. Now the question is who will want him on their team having only played in 12 games since the start of the 2004 season? He’s the “property” of the Miami Dolphins as he begins a comeback from multiple violations of the league’s drug policy. And at 0-9, I can’t imagine why the Dolphins wouldn’t give him a try. Even with franchise RB Ronnie Brown on the shelf for the rest of the season, the Dolphins …read more

When I heard yesterday that Ricky Williams had failed yet another drug test while applying for reinstatement to the NFL last month (he had been banned for all of 2006 because of numerous failed drug tests), I was kind of surprised because it seemed that he had really pulled himself together to make a successful return to the league. And I was pulling for him. As flaky as he sometimes seems, he also appears to be a genuinely nice person who has his struggles like anyone else. Today, he issued this statement:
“Due to the recent reports about me failing a …read more

Ricky Williams wants back in the NFL. And he’s already started the process of reinstatement by requesting that pertinent reports, including those from the clinician who has monitored his case and from Dr. Lawrence Brown, the administrator of the NFL drug program, be forwarded to the league for review by Commissioner Roger Goodell. His four substance abuse violations landed him a one-year suspension, so he spent that time in Canada playing for the Toronto Argonauts (11 games, 109 carries, 526 yards, two TDs). A check of argonauts.ca shows that he is no longer on the team’s roster. I guess he’s …read more