Chris Perkins: Ricky Williams has one regret about his Dolphins career

Yahoo

25-05-2025

MIAMI — A measly 301 yards.
That's all that separates astrologer Ricky Williams, who is No. 2 on the Miami Dolphins all-time rushing list, from Hall of Fame running back Larry Csonka, who is No. 1.
A mere 301 yards.
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Csonka has 6,737 yards, Williams has 6,436.
That bothers Williams a bit.
Does that news surprise you?
Well, it's true.
Williams considers himself an astrologer nowadays.
And a businessman.
Williams is back in South Florida for a cannabis festival — Cannadelic Miami, a two-day event at the Miami Airport Convention Center.
Williams was a speaker on an intriguing five-person panel entitled, 'The Psychedelic Locker Room.' Panelists discussed how methods such as plant medicine like as cannabis, psychedelics such as ayahuasca, and hyperbaric chambers can help the body heal, open awareness and lead to a better life in many ways and on many levels.
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I spoke to him afterward.
I reminded Williams of a chat we had back in maybe 2009 or 2010 about him reaching 10,000 yards rushing, which was an unofficial Hall of Fame stepping stone at the time.
Williams said he had two paths he could have taken regarding the Hall of Fame.
'One path would have taken me closer to the Hall of Fame, one path would have taken me away from it,' he said. 'And I consciously chose to go with the one that was away from it, and I'm glad that I did because of all that I've gotten in return.
'The one thing that I do cherish is my time here,' Williams continued, 'and the only real regret that I have, honestly, is that I didn't finish my career here, because if I would have played my last year I probably would have been Dolphins all-time leading rusher.'
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What was most obvious talking to Williams, who started his 11-year career in New Orleans and ended it in Baltimore, is how much he treasures his seven years with the Dolphins.
'It's where I had the most success as a professional, and I made a name for myself,' he said. 'I can say the ups and downs that I played 10 years plus, I ran for a thousand yards multiple times, and I was the NFL leading rusher and an All-Pro. All that happened in Miami.'
Don't get it twisted.
Being the No. 2 rusher in Dolphins history doesn't haunt Williams on a daily basis. He's moved on to another stage of life.
'Primarily I'm an astrologer,' he said. 'I do consultations, I write code for my app (Lila), and I teach.'
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One of the things I most enjoyed about covering Williams, and that I enjoyed about talking with him, is that he never fails to enlighten.
Football is only part of Williams' story. He's always known he had to go deeper, much deeper.
'I've always had a destiny to touch people,' he said. 'But football, it wasn't enough because the way I touch people, yeah, they'd be inspired, and their team won, or their fantasy team won or whatever, but it's like right after Sunday, after Tuesday or Wednesday, when the hype of the last weekend's game died off, I've got to do it all over again.
'That's not really sustainable.'
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Williams is always seeking more, which brings us to another reason that he was in town.
Cannadelic Miami is a combination cannabis and psychedelic conference and expo that unofficially started Thursday with a golf tournament that Williams hosted. The event features products and exhibitors, and includes guest speakers such as Williams, doctors, former athletes, legal experts and entrepreneurs, and includes wellness retreats that include breathwork, sound healing, yoga, integration circles and more.
Williams is launching a cannabis line, 'Highsman.'
Get it?
It'll be featured locally at Goldflower, a dispensary opening in Miami on June 14.
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Williams spends a good amount of time speaking and appearing at events such as Cannadelic Miami and exploring ways to help people find awareness. It's among the many things that make Williams unique even in his post-playing days.
Listen to him speak about plant medicine and psychedelics.
'The plants and the medicine are tools that are giving us potential to study what's going on with consciousness,' he said. 'And I think as more people are willing to use these tools to expand their consciousness, we'll be able to study how consciousness works. And we're going to learn a whole lot.'
For years it's been hard to pigeonhole Williams as a football player.
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He's taught meditation at Nova Southeastern University.
He went to the foothills of the Himalayas to study the origins of cannabis.
As part of being an astrologer, he's got an app, Lila, that calls itself 'Timely food for thought' and says it 'is designed to help even novice users better understand themselves and their relationship needs using insights derived from astrology.'
On Friday, just as he was in 2002, when he was traded to the Dolphins from New Orleans in a blockbuster deal, just as he was in 2004, when he shocked the NFL world by abruptly retiring on the eve of training camp, and just as he was in 2009, when he was named team MVP, Williams was captivating.
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I asked if he had it to do all over again, considering the failed drug tests and suspension for the 2006 season, would he have smoked cannabis during his career?
Williams doubled down.
'If I had to do everything all over again, I would have advocated more,' he said. 'I think it's easy to say in this day and age, but back then I didn't realize how many advocacy groups were out there, that if I consciously said, 'I want to make a strong case for this,' I was in a position at my level in the NFL that I could have started that conversation.'
Williams' sudden 2004 retirement remains a sore spot for a segment of Dolphins fans. It might not be that way for players, though.
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Tim Bowens, the former Dolphins defensive tackle who was inducted into the team's Ring of Honor in October, said he wasn't mad at Williams for retiring on the eve of 2004 training camp, and he said neither were most players.
'We were probably more confused than anything,' Bowens recalled Friday via phone, adding, 'But I didn't really have any hard feelings about it. Most of the guys were probably on Rick's side, man.'
But Bowens thinks Williams, a daily cannabis user, might have been ahead of his time when it comes to cannabis as a healing agent.
'Rick is a smart man,' Bowens said. 'Everybody thinks Rick is a certain way. But, man, Rick's got a pretty good head on his shoulders. He's highly intelligent.'
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One thing that was obvious talking to Williams, who remains as mellow as ever, is that for all of the attention he attracts for being a proponent of cannabis and psychedelics, he still has that competitive fire that all great athletes share.
Being the best, being No. 1 means something. It always will.
He wanted to be the Dolphins' all-time leading rusher more than rushing for 10,000 yards. He's proud that he rushed for 10,009 yards.
He just wishes he'd have stayed one final year with the Dolphins instead of going to Baltimore for his final season in 2011.
'The 10,000 yards would have come with it,' he said of playing one more year with the Dolphins. 'I got the 10,000 yards, but I didn't get the all-time (record in Miami). I think just all the ups and downs with the Dolphins, to be on top of that list at the end of my career would have been better for me.
'That's the only regret, that I didn't play my last year here.'
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