Running back Ricky Williams has informed Baltimore Ravens officials he is retiring, according to a league source. Williams broke into the NFL in 1999 with the New Orleans Saints, who took him fifth overall. The Saints traded eight draft picks to the Washington Redskins in order to move up and select Williams in that draft. The Saints sent each of their six picks in the 1999 draft, as well as first- and third-round picks in the 2000 draft, to the Redskins. After four seasons with the Saints, Williams was dealt to Miami in exchange for first- and fourth-round picks in the 2002 draft, as well as a conditional pick that ended up as a first-rounder when Williams ran for more than 1,500 yards in his first season with the Dolphins. Williams led the NFL in 2002 with 1,853 yards rushing with the Dolphins and made the Pro Bowl that season. He was suspended for the entire 2006 season for his fourth failure of the league's substance abuse policy. He retired previously before the 2004 season when facing a four-game suspension for violating the league's drug policy. He returned in 2005. Williams last week said he was in good shape and was excited for next season. "My body feels good and I know I'm going to train hard and so I'm excited about next year," Williams told the team's official site last week. "I've grown a lot, kind of falling into a new role and a new city and a new organization, and I've gotten better. And like everyone else, I feel like I have something to build on for next year." "Thank you all, but this ain't it, I'm gonna do something really special. 'Be you and change the world,' " Williams tweeted Tuesday.
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