Updated: 5:35 p.m.
Roy Williams says the injured forearm that has limited his last two seasons to seven games "has formed up very, very solid where the fracture was," and he'll be ready to do anything and everything when the Bengals offseason workouts start two weeks from Monday.
He says he's taken "a lot of calcium pills" for an arm he refractured during practice last October in his first season as one of the Bengals starting safeties. He says he wasn't wearing his precautionary pad that week before the Oct. 4 win in Cleveland to cover the spot that had been surgically treated with two plates in Dallas the year before.
"The hit I took on it, I don't know if the pad could have helped it or not," Williams said Monday, the day the Bengals announced his one-year deal. "But being I didn't have it on, it's still my fault."
But defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer has forgiven him, still believing that Williams' toughness and physical presence gives his unit a unique element.
"I know he's the sole person that really was rooting for me to come to the Cincinnati Bengals and the one that was in my corner for having them bring me back," Williams said. "There's a little bit of added pressure, but I'm used to the pressure from Zim and I know what he expects out of me. And I know that when I step out on that football field I'm trying not for just my teammates, but I'm going out there playing for Zim."
Williams, the four-time Pro Bowler under Zimmer as a Cowboy, is about to hook up with another guy he knew in Dallas. Antonio Bryant, the new Bengals receiver, was taken in the second round in 2002 right after the Cowboys took Williams with the eighth pick in the draft. Bryant reminds him of a guy already here.
"To me, he's kind of like Chad," Williams said of The Ocho. "He wants the ball in his hands because he knows when he gets the ball in his hands he can do some great things. He can go up and catch the ball. He can be a deep threat and he's not scared to go across the middle and catch the ball."
Once they hit the field in May, Williams is going to see a host of different receivers. Bryant. A former No. 1 pick in Matt Jones. A former fourth-rounder in Chris Davis. At least one rookie, who could be a first-rounder.
"We've been doing good things in the offseason," Williams said. "I feel like it's going to help build Carson's confidence in the receivers this offseason working with them. It really ended on a great note with the way Ced (Benson) was running the ball. We're going to have a lot more weapons for opposing defenses."
CROCKER REHAB:Williams' safetymate, Chris Crocker, was glad to hear Williams is back but he's not sure if he'll join him when the Bengals take the field in May. Crocker is only about eight and a half weeks off surgery for the injured ankle that took him out of the last month of the regular season and left him hobbled for the Wild Card loss to the Jets. He's confident he'll be ready when he has to be ready.
"They went in there and repaired some things and did a scope and I'm not that far removed from it," Crocker said. "We're not going to rush it. We're going to get it right. I'll be up there in two weeks to work on it. I'm not sure when I'll be back on the field but the thing is to get ready for the season and the season doesn't start April 1."
INCOGNITO DISCOVERED:According to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post, free agent guard Richie Incognito visited the Bengals on Monday and is then headed to visit the Dolphins. The Dolphins, along with the Bills, put a claim on Incognito late last season after the Rams cut him and he was awarded to Buffalo. The Bengals later confirmed the visit when incognito was presumed to be on his way to Miami for the intervierw with the Dolphins.
The 6-3, 324-pound Incognito, 26, is a versatile sort who played three spots on the line for the Rams in 2006, including center. It was his first season in the league after missing all of the 2005 season after suffering a serious knee injury in a drill at the NFL scouting combine, where he drew rave reviews for his strength and power.
He started nine games for the Rams last season before being released after drawing two personal fouls and getting into a verbal confrontation with head coach Steve Spagnuolo during a 47-7 loss to Tennessee.
The Bengals are talking to their right guard for the past six seasons, free agent Bobbie Williams. His agent, Tony Agnone, said Monday he's looking to hook up with the Bengals for more talks.
