You may have been one of those sneaky folks that, knowing Ricky Williams was bound to get reinstated this year, stashed him away in your injured reserve (if you league is lucky enough to have such an option) or kept your eye on him in the free agent pool.
Unfortunately for you, Ronnie Brown broke out to a huge first half of the season, and he made it look like Ricky had missed his chance. When Brown went down, the speculation again came up that Ricky would have an impact since his application for reinstatement was coming up for review in just a few weeks.
Enter Jesse Chatman.
Chatman, although few thought he had it in him, has put up big enough yards these last two games to be considered a solid running back as well. Some of it may just be the good play of the Miami offensive line, but Chatman still has made a good enough impression to make it hard for Ricky to jump into a starting role. Unless Ricky Williams can become his former self–as in 2002 and 2003 pre-drug test failing Ricky–then he is of little use to Miami this season. They are looking ahead, and Ricky is definitely far behind.
Coach Cam Cameron hasn’t seemed publicly excited about Ricky’s return, but Ricky’s agent seems to think that he will take a good, hard look at Ricky in practice next week from his words with the coach. He would be smart not to put too much faith in the returning back.
Unless Cameron is willing to take a big risk mid-season–which he might with his current record–he will probably look to deal Ricky away or release him completely. He has talent, but previous comebacks have shown that he lacks discipline. I find it hard to believe that he will ever find a new home in the NFL, but if you have been hanging onto him this long, it might be worth your while to keep an eye on where he goes. Otherwise, you just look like a sucker.
