Dolphins RB Williams placed on IR

Nov 28, 2007 - 10:42 PM MIAMI (Ticker) -- The Miami Dolphins on Wednesday placed running back Ricky Williams on injured reserve, ending his season.

The move was a formality as it was reported Tuesday that the embattled 30-year-old would miss the rest of the season with a torn chest muscle.

Williams suffered the injury on his fifth carry in Monday night's 3-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"It's unfortunate," Miami coach Cam Cameron said. "It's easy, again, in those situations to get ahead of yourself and we all know that it's a different game on Sundays than when you're out back practicing and it's not contact. It's unfortunate, but as he and I talked, it's another test for him, another obstacle for him to overcome and he knows we're going to support him."

It was the first game back for Williams after not playing for a year a half because of repeated violations of the NFL's drug policy.

The injury occurred after Williams, who suited up after only a week of practice and gained 15 yards on six carries, fumbled and was stepped on by a Pittsburgh defender in the second quarter on Monday.

"I guess you could slow it down and come up with a conclusion, but the game is going so fast," Cameron said about Williams being stepped on. "It's a tough game. It's a physical game, and it's one of those things I think was unfortunate and I wouldn't think in any way that someone could plan that one. You don't see a lot of that out there. I don't think anybody normally wants to do that."

The injury is expected to take several months to heal.

It's the latest chapter of Williams inability to stay on the playing field. The 5-10, 228-pounder, who's rushed for 7,112 yards on 1,763 carries in seven seasons with New Orleans and the Dolphins, was suspended by the league for one year on October 16, 2006, for his fourth offense due to a positive test for marijuana.

The fifth overall pick by New Orleans in 1999, after the Saints traded eight picks to the Washington Redskins for the right to select the former Heisman Trophy winner, Williams stunned the football world when he announced his retirement during Dolphins training camp in July 2004.

Williams, who missed the first four games of the 2005 season due to suspension, was also fined for second and third violations of the substance abuse program in December 2003 and in the 2004 offseason, respectively. The native of San Diego came back in 2005 to rush for 743 yards and six touchdowns in 12 games.

To take his spot on the roster the team re-signed running back Samkon Gado, who originally was signed by the Dolphins off waivers from Houston on October 24 and then waived on Monday.