The love affair between Miami RB Ricky Williams and Dolphins management is in full bloom, as the NFL's house practitioner of holistic medicine received an extension through the 2009 season, and reportedly a pay raise to boot. Terms of the raise were not disclosed, but my guess is that it involves large quantities of foliage in medium-sized sandwich bags.
The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told ESPN's Chris Mortensen on Saturday that there was no signing bonus, but Williams' salary in 2009 could increase significantly over this year's base of $730,000. The Miami tailback can increase his 2008 compensation with easily achievable incentives, the source said. Williams, 31, was scheduled to be a free agent in '09. Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland said Sunday that the team wanted to keep the 31-year-old running back so "he didn't become a free agent" after this season.
Williams hasn't played a complete NFL season since 2003, but has somehow won over Bill Parcells, the new czar of Dolphins football operations, so much that incumbent starter Ronnie Brown has been rumored to be shipped out of town. One could argue that Parcells has needed to mellow out for quite some time. Who in the league, then, would be better suited for the job? Miami signs Williams to 1-year contract extension [ESPN]