Ricky Williams time in Miami could be compared to a real-life relationship. There have been big ups and big downs, but overall the experience was memorable. Lets take a look at his journey.
After being traded from New Orleans in 2002, Williams had a monster year with the Dolphins leading the NFL in rushing yards finishing with 1853. He followed that year with another solid performance rushing for over a thousand yards and 9 touchdowns. Looking like the second coming of Barry Sanders, the Dolphins thought they had found a franchise back.
Everyone knows what happened next, Ricky couldn't stay away from the blunt and violated the league's substance abuse policy in December of 2003. Then he went Dave Chappelle on the Dolphins, deciding to retire from the NFL and go on a spiritual trip to India. To this day he does not regret retiring, because it helped him find out who he really is. The Dolphins finished the year with a record of 4-12
Williams returned to the Dolphins in 2005, but then failed another drug test and was suspended for the entire 2006 season. Played for the CFL that year, then upon return to the NFL in 2007 was injured for the whole year. Finally last year he was able to play and was a nice change of pace back to Ronnie Brown, also taking some snaps in the "Wildcat" formation.
As a Dolphins fan, I have seen Ricky at his highest(no pun intended) and absolute rock bottom. It has been a wild ride, and I am actually very sad that he has announced that he will retire after the 2010 season. Williams has always been odd, but he has never claimed to be perfect. He has suffered from depression and anxiety at times, but has been able to pull through it and be a part of this team. I commend him for that. So Ricky you will be missed, but then again we are always left to wonder what could have been?
No comments:
Post a Comment