Conflicting Reports on Williams Injury

Running back Ricky Williams’ slow-healing ankle sprain will keep him out of the next exhibition game, but he is expected to be ready for the regular season.

Williams, for whom New Orleans Coach Mike Ditka traded his entire draft and more in April, sprained his left ankle in the first exhibition game Aug. 13. Trainer Dean Kleinschmidt said a medical evaluation at LSU Medical Center on Tuesday confirmed the Saint staff’s diagnosis: a sprain, with no need for surgery.

Williams will not play in Saturday’s home exhibition game against Green Bay. After that, his condition will be reassessed. The Saints play Sept. 2 against Tennessee and open the regular season Sept. 12 at home against Carolina.

The news for Pro Bowl defensive end Joe Johnson was much worse--he is out for the season after rupturing a tendon in his right knee during a drill. .

Meanwhile, offensive lineman William Roaf sprained his left knee and ankle when players landed on his leg in a pileup. Kleinschmidt said he will miss Saturday’s game.

Tight end Cam Cleeland has tendinitis of the right Achilles’ tendon and also will sit out Saturday’s game. He was in Seattle to have the foot examined.

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Barring another change of heart, rookie defensive end Dimitrius Underwood has decided to play for Miami.

Underwood, who walked out on the Minnesota Vikings to pursue his faith, met for about an hour in Miami with Dolphin Coach Jimmy Johnson and agreed to report for practice Monday.

Underwood, the 29th player taken in the first round of the draft, was claimed off waivers by the Dolphins last week after the Vikings released him Aug. 11.

Underwood will not get a signing bonus and his base salary is only $395,000.

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San Diego Charger Coach Mike Riley confirmed a report in the San Diego Union-Tribune that troubled second-year quarterback Ryan Leaf will ask for a trade if the team puts him on injured reserve.

Leaf underwent surgery July 26 to repair a tear in his right shoulder.

“I guess I didn’t feel threatened, because a trade is not going to happen anyway,” Riley said.

A trade would cost San Diego $7.5 million against the salary cap as Leaf’s signing bonus would accelerate.

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A jury of eight women and four men began deliberations in Miami on whether Dolphin receiver Tony Martin laundered money for a local drug kingpin or was merely trying to help a longtime friend.

Martin, 33, is charged with four federal counts of laundering drug profits and one of conspiracy to hide drug money. He is being tried alongside Rickey Brownlee, who served seven years in prison for two 1980s drug convictions, in a case largely focusing on Brownlee’s alleged narcotics activities from 1994 to 1997.

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The Philadelphia Eagles traded quarterback Bobby Hoying to the Oakland Raiders, reuniting him with his former offensive coordinator, Jon Gruden.

The Eagles get a sixth-round pick in 2000 that could upgrade to a fifth-rounder based on Hoying’s playing time.

Hoying will vie with Wade Wilson for the backup job behind Rich Gannon.

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A day after ending a holdout by signing a seven-year contract worth as much as $56 million, rookie quarterback Akili Smith was delayed further by lightning before finally practicing during a steady rain in Georgetown, Ky. “I saw a guy who missed 27 practices and he’s behind, but we’ll catch him up,” Cincinnati Coach Bruce Coslet said of the third overall pick in the draft out of Oregon. . . . Alonzo Spellman, a defensive end since he started playing, is moving to defensive tackle to replace Leon Lett with the Dallas Cowboys. The NFL has yet to announce how many games Lett will miss during his third ban for violating the league’s substance-abuse rules, but it’s sure to be at least four. . . . Running back Chris Warren, bothered by a sore groin, practiced with the Cowboys, and Coach Chan Gailey said there is a chance he could play in Sunday’s exhibition game against Denver. Warren had left camp last week to see a specialist in Colorado and was supposed to be back in camp Monday for a team meeting and practice, but missed both. “He made a mistake and he knows it,” said Gailey, whose anger was obvious Monday. “He’s apologized to me.”

New York Giant left guard Lance Scott sprained his right knee in practice and will be sidelined indefinitely. An MRI exam was planned. First-round draft pick Luke Petitgout is expected to replace Scott. . . . The Chicago Bears claimed defensive lineman Shane Burton, 25, off waivers, a day after he was cut by Miami. The Dolphins wanted to reduce his salary, but the Bears agreed to the full $934,000, Burton’s agent said. . . . Tampa Bay tackle Warren Sapp returned to practice after an MRI on his sore back revealed no structural damage. The two-time Pro Bowl selection said the test revealed he has a narrow spine and that there was some swelling causing the pain. Running back Warrick Dunn, sidelined most of camp because of tendinitis in his right knee and a sore left hamstring, also practiced.