MIAMI -- Running back Delvin Williams says he finally wants to play ball, but the Miami Dolphins say that if he does it will be elsewhere.
Williams has been the subject of controversy since late last season and earlier this summer refused to report to training camp because he says he was mistreated in Miami. But Wednesday he let the Dolphins know through a representative he planned to show up Thursday.
'I told the representative to advise Delvin that he could save himself the trip,' Shula said. 'We have continued to try to trade Delvin Williams and been unable to work out any deal.
'We will make our decisions on the people here in training camp. I am going to put Delvin Williams on waivers tomorrow (Thursday),' Shula said.
Williams' agent Greg Lustig said he finally convinced Williams to report after arguing for six months, but now he has to go looking for another club.
Williams has a $270,000 contract, which is presumably part of the reason there was little interest in a trade on the part of clubs on the West Coast, where he wants to play.
Williams had charged during the off-season that coaches, players and fans at Miami had made his life miserable and demanded to be traded. He said he received a death threat from a fan, a threat from another player demanding he play harder and was the subject of false rumors that he used drugs.
The Dolphins complained that he frequently fell asleep at team meetings. Lustig said that was caused by an ailment known as narcolepsy, and after the problem was diagnosed it was controlled 'with a form of stimulants.'
If Williams reported to the Dolphins and was accepted, he would face $7,500 in fines for reporting late to summer training camp.
Williams came to Miami in 1978 in a trade with the San Francisco 49ers and gained 1,258 yards that year. But his production dropped to 703 yards in 1979 and 671 last year.
This week, Lustig was quoted as saying that Williams' ineffectiveness last year was the result of an inept offensive line.
'I think the guy (Williams) is like a cornered rat right now,' said Dolphin guard Ed Newman. 'He's lashing out without even thinking about it, scratching and biting.'
