Football News - Ricky Williams Rejects Deal to Return to NFL



Ricky Williams rejected a deal that would have allowed him to serve a four-game drug suspension this season and return to the NFL next year. The 2002 NFL rushing champion obviously just does not want to play football anymore.

"Ricky indicated to me that he is no longer interested in resuming his career at this time," Williams' lawyer, David Cornwell, said in a statement e-mailed to The Associated Press.

The 1998 Heisman Trophy winner needed to let the league know by Dec. 2 so that he could be moved from the retired list to the suspended list by the deadline. Williams would have served the suspension for the remaining four games of the season.

The talks to allow Williams back into the league involved a promise to return to the field next season and to re-enter the NFL drug program immediately, including a serious of tests on a regular basis.

Williams has social-anxiety disorder and was a spokesman for an anti-depressant. He said marijuana also helped him cope with his disorder.

The former Texas Longhorn stunned his team by retiring shortly before Miami opened training camp in July. The Dolphins filed a lawsuit in federal court against the running back, seeking the $8.6 million an arbitrator ruled he owes the team for breaching his contract. Williams is fighting the decision.

Williams is currently enrolled in a 17-month course at the California College of Ayurveda in Grass Valley, California. He is studying holistic medicine.

Ricky rushed for 3,225 yards in two seasons with Miami including a league-leading 1,853 yards in 2002. The 'Fins acquired him from New Orleans after the 2001 season.

However, without Williams, the Dolphins have gone into a downward spiral, mostly because of their hole at the running back position and their inability to run the ball successfully. Miami's running game ranks 31st in the 32-team NFL. The team is 2-9 and will finish with a losing record for the first time since 1988.




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