Minnesota Vikings defensive lineman Kevin Williams, who sued the National Football League over leaked drug-test results, testified Tuesday that he never took steroids.
A teammate suggested he take StarCaps, an over-the-counter weight-loss aide, at the start of training camp in 2006, Williams testified in state court in Minneapolis. He and another defensive tackle, Pat Williams, later tested positive for bumetanide, an ingredient in StarCaps banned because it can mask steroids.
"You see people taking that kind of stuff," Kevin Williams told the judge in a nonjury trial. "I took StarCaps to help me shed a couple of pounds for health reasons, to keep the coach off my back, and also because in my contract I had a weight clause."
The player learned of the test results a month after giving a urine sample. He was notified by letter of his four-day suspension after another month passed, he said. Williams, who has been in the NFL for seven years, testified he was standing in an airport when he saw news of his suspension flash across a TV screen.
Quarterback Derek Anderson's five-year stint with Cleveland is over. The team released him Tuesday, a day after the Browns acquired backup Seneca Wallace from Seattle.
Kansas City signed free-agent running back Thomas Jones, who led the New York Jets to the AFC championship game last season and was the NFL's third-leading rusher with 1,402 yards.
After six years backing up Peyton Manning in Indianapolis, Jim Sorgi will get a chance to do the same for Peyton's brother, Eli, after the New York Giants announced Sorgi's signing to a one-year deal.
Denver beefed up its defensive line with the signing of unrestricted free agent Jarvis Green, who spent his first eight NFL seasons in New England, and Jamal Williams, formerly of San Diego. Green's deal is for four years and $20 million; Williams' is three years and $16 million.
New England re-signed longtime starting right guard Stephen Neal and defensive back Leigh Bodden (Duquesne University). Agent Alvin Keels said Bodden's deal will run four years.
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