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Pat Williams is available to be signed

Published September 20, 2011 12:10 PM
Pat Williams

FILE - In this Jan. 2, 2011 file photo, Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Pat Williams looks on from the sidelines during an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions in Detroit. The Minnesota Supreme Court has declined to consider Williams’ appeal of a decision that had gone against both him and teammate Kevin William, perhaps the final chapter in the closely watched anti-doping case. The Williamses, initially suspended in 2008 for taking a weight-loss supplement that contained a banned diuretic, waged a long fight against the suspensions through federal and state courts, The league allowed them to play pending a final resolution of the case. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

AP

As expected, the NFL has reinstated Vikings defensive tackle Kevin Williams and Saints defensive end Will Smith following their two-game suspensions for violating the steroids policy. In 2008.

Williams and Smith tested positive for a banned diuretic, which had been secretly inserted into StarCaps, an over-the-counter weight-loss supplement. Litigation delayed the penalties, which originally would have been four games. The league ultimately suspended the players two games and fined them two game checks, with the reduced penalty apparently reflecting the World Anti-Doping Agency’s approach to diuretics, which are not steroids but which can be used to mask them.

The Vikings formally have added Kevin Williams onto the active roster, releasing defensive end Adrian Awasom.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello tells PFT that, with the conclusion of the first two weeks of action, another Williams is available to be signed. Former Vikings defensive tackle Pat Williams has served his suspension while being unsigned. If/when he joins a team, he will be required to pay a fine in the amount of two game checks.

Pat Williams had been musing about retirement in recent years. After the 2010 season, he decided he wanted to still play. For most players, however, careers end not with tear-jerking press conferences but a permanent lockout from the league.