MINNEAPOLIS - The NFL finally sacked Kevin Williams.
Three years after drawing a four-game suspension for violating the NFL policy on performance-enhancing substances, the Vikings defensive tackle will serve a two-game suspension and surrender an additional two game checks, the league announced Friday.
Reached by phone before he had heard the news, Williams said he wasn't surprised, but he declined to comment further.
Meanwhile, teammates are sad to see the five-time All-Pro miss the first two games but eager to finally put the distraction behind them.
"Kevin's a guy you always want on the field with you," defensive end Brian Robison said. "But it's almost a relief because we finally know what's going to happen."
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Williams' suspension begins today and will end Sept. 19. Letroy Guion, a fourth-year pro who has impressed coaches with his progress, will get his first NFL start against the Chargers on Sept. 11 in San Diego and his second Sept. 18 at home against Tampa Bay. The Chargers ranked 15th in rushing offense a year ago, while the Bucs were eighth.
The financial hit for Williams was 4/17ths of his $6 million base salary, or a little more than $1.4 million, not to mention legal fees of about $1 million. That's considerably higher than the roughly $235,000 he would have lost had he just taken the suspension in 2008 when his base salary was $1 million.
On the field, the suspension might be coming at a good time. Williams has dealt with painful plantar fasciitis in his left foot since training camp opened. He left the second preseason game and sat out the third because the pain was preventing him from pushing off with the foot. He wouldn't have played the final preseason game even if he were healthy.
"Kevin's been battling through some things with his foot," Robison said.
"If you look at it that way, it might be good for him to get some rest and come back even stronger. We got confidence in Letroy because we think he can do a lot of good things in this league."
Williams won't count against the 53-man roster. That means the Vikings will have to make only 26 cuts to reach today's 5 p.m. deadline. The 27th cut won't have to come until after the second game.
It was on July 26, 2008, that he and then-teammate Pat Williams tested positive for the banned substance bumetanide they got from a diuretic, StarCaps. The Williamses and two other NFL players were suspended but appealed the decision, arguing that the banned substance was not listed on the StarCaps label and that the NFL knew it was in there and didn't inform the players.
The legal battle that ensued through the federal and Minnesota court systems over the next three years became known as the StarCaps case and was closely watched by all sports that have anti-doping rules in place. Although bumetanide isn't a performance enhancer, it is known as a possible masking agent for performance enhancers.
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The Williamses claimed throughout the process that they used StarCaps only to lose weight so they could meet bonus requirements in their contracts.
The process became a battle between Minnesota state laws protecting employees against punishment from employers based on a single positive drug test and the NFL's claim that the case should be dismissed because federal courts oversee the labor laws in its collectively bargained drug-testing program.
The legal maneuvering reached the U.S. Supreme Court. Finally, on March 10, 2011, Kevin Williams opted not to appeal the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruling that favored the NFL.
The suspension was reduced in part because the collective bargaining agreement that governed the original punishment has since been replaced.
The league's decision Friday also covers Pat Williams and two other players involved in the StarCaps case: Charles Grant and Will Smith. Pat Williams and Grant are free agents. Smith is a defensive end for the Saints.
"It's time to move forward," Robison said. "It's time for the rest of us to step up and make plays for Kevin."
