Eagles' Williams won't 'cast a stone' at Rice

EAGLES CORNERBACK Cary Williams was Ray Rice's teammate for three seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. When Williams was asked to talk about Rice's banishment from the NFL yesterday, after TMZ posted a video of Rice knocking out his then-fiancée and now wife, Janay, that friendship was on Williams' mind, along with his own missteps.

"I understand hitting a woman is very, very disrespectful, and it's something I wouldn't want my daughter ever going through," Williams said. "But we gotta also understand people make mistakes. I'm not condoning anything he's done. But I can't cast a stone. I'm sinful. I've made mistakes.

"Ray Rice made a mistake. What he showed in that tape is not him. I've been there. I've lost my temper. I've said things that I've regretted. I've done things that I regret now. I was granted a second chance at life. I think we should do the same with this guy."

What Williams seemed to be referring to without directly acknowledging was his own two-game NFL suspension in 2010, levied right after he signed with the Ravens from the Titans. No reason for the suspension was disclosed, but at the time, his agent told the Baltimore Sun it involved his family, and an episode that occurred in Tennessee. Later, ESPN.com reported the cause was domestic violence. No details have surfaced, and Williams apparently has no arrest record.

Williams and his wife, Amanda, have a daughter, Amari.

Williams reiterated that Rice's "mistake . . . was brutal. It was harsh. It was difficult to see. I have a daughter and I definitely wouldn't want a man doing that to my daughter. But I'm also a Christian. I'm a forgiving man. God forgave me. So who am I to point the finger and say he should never be forgiven for a mistake that he made?"

Williams spoke before yesterday's Associated Press story that quoted an anonymous law enforcement official as saying he gave the tape of the Rice incident to the NFL in April, and had a voicemail from someone working for the league who acknowledged getting it, and called it "terrible."

After the AP story broke, the NFL reiterated its stance that commissioner Roger Goodell had not seen the tape, recorded in a Revel casino elevator, before this week. On Tuesday, Goodell told interviewer Norah O'Donnell, of CBS This Morning, that no one in his office had seen the video previously, "to my knowledge."

"If TMZ could get it, why couldn't the NFL get it?" Williams asked. "For them to be satisfied with a no [from the casino where the incident occurred] is kind of shocking . . . They dropped the ball."

Williams said he has sent Rice a text message "of encouragement. Told him I'm praying for him and his wife and his daughter. And that if he ever needed me, I'm here for him."

Eagles linebacker and player rep DeMeco Ryans said the NFLPA is "still waiting on some language to change" before voting on changes to the league drug policy. "I think it's headed in the right direction," Ryans said. "We have some pieces we like, but overall, it's not where we want it right now."

The changes would affect players currently serving marijuana suspensions, which will be reduced under the new agreement, but would not affect the performance-enhancing substance suspensions, such as the four games being served by Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson, Ryans confirmed.

Right guard Todd Herremans said he texted with Johnson, who is working out in Texas, after the Eagles' season-opening victory Sunday over Jacksonville. The Birds lost Johnson's replacement, Allen Barbre, for the season to an ankle injury and left guard Evan Mathis for eight weeks to an MCL sprain.

"He sent me a text - 'Thank God you made it out of there alive!' I don't think he wants to play next to another guard," Herremans said.

In a conference call with Philadelphia-area reporters yesterday, Colts quarterback Andrew Luck was asked about his former Stanford teammate, Eagles tight end Zach Ertz, who seems poised for stardom in his second NFL season.

"Not a surprise to any of us who played with him in college of how he successful he was last year and starting this year off. Great athlete. Great body control," Luck said. "Type of guy you always feel comfortable throwing the ball to because you know he's going to come down with it."

Colts coach Chuck Pagano praised Eagles kicker Cody Parkey, who lost a training camp battle with Adam Vinatieri and was traded to the Birds. "The game wasn't too big for him. He was mature beyond his years. It just so happened we had a Hall of Famer," Pagano said on a conference call . . . Parkey said he has only kicked once in Lucas Oil Stadium, since the Colts don't practice there . . . Wide receiver Josh Huff (shoulder) did not practice . . . Running back Chris Polk said he felt really good at yesterday's light practice but will know more about the status of his healing hamstring when the pads go on today.

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