Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 31, 1990 TAG: 9003310312
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The New York Times
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The 'Skins' third quarterback will not be Williams, but Jeff Rutledge, 33, who played the last eight seasons with the New York Giants. Washington chose Rutledge as a Plan B free agent over Pat Ryan, 34, of the New York Jets.
In January 1988, Williams became the first black quarterback to start in a Super Bowl. He threw four touchdown passes in the second quarter, and the Redskins went on to rout the Denver Broncos 42-10.
For the game, Williams completed 18 of 29 passes for 340 yards, then a Super Bowl record, and was voted the most valuable player.
He never reached that level again. He missed four games during the 1988 season after an attack of appendicitis. Before the 1989 season, he underwent surgery to repair a ruptured disk.
He returned in midyear and started two games, but more back problems followed. In the last six weeks of the season, he played less than a quarter.
His future with the Redskins had been cloudy because the team was so high on starter Mark Rypien, 27, and backup Stan Humphries, 24.
Now Williams' future in pro football is uncertain, although his agent, Brig Owens, said two teams he would not identify had shown interest in Williams.
"He was a little disappointed," Owens said. "But he told me, `You can't worry about those things. I've always been an upbeat person. I enjoyed my four years in Washington. I can't control what they did. I have to get ready to move on.' "
Williams started his NFL career as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' first-round draft choice in 1978. In 1983, he jumped to the U.S. Football League. In 1986, after that league had collapsed, only the Redskins sought him.
Coach Joe Gibbs met with Williams on Friday at the Redskins' training complex in Chantilly.
"It was an emotional meeting for me," Gibbs said. "The four years with Doug have been good for me and the Redskins. Having made the decision to go with the young quarterbacks, I did not think it would be fair to anyone to put Doug, who has accomplished so much for the Redskins, in the role of a third quarterback."
Any of the 27 other NFL teams could sign Williams without having to compensate the Redskins by Sunday, when the Plan B free agency period ends. The Giants similarly exposed Rutledge.
Rutledge spent his first three NFL seasons with the Los Angeles Rams before he was traded to the Giants. For most of his career he backed up Phil Simms.
When the Giants decided last year that Jeff Hostetler could handle the backup job, Rutledge became the No. 3 quarterback. He was on the roster all season, although he usually was not activated for games.
The Redskins told Rutledge that they wanted to sign him, and he flew east from his home in Mission Viejo, Calif.
The Jets had told Ryan that they did not want him back. He had been the backup to Ken O'Brien and sometimes, when O'Brien was ailing or in a slump, started. The Jets now have three quarterbacks: O'Brien, Tony Eason and Kyle Mackey.
by CNB