Associated Press
The NFL notebook …
CINCINNATI ó Safety Roy Williams hopes that a reunion with his defensive coordinator from Dallas will get his career turned around.
The Cincinnati Bengals signed Williams to a one-year contract on Thursday.
Williams missed most of last season with Dallas because he broke his right forearm twice, and the Cowboys released him.
Part of the attraction of coming to Cincinnati was the chance to play for defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, who held the job in Dallas from 2000-06. Williams was the Cowboys’ first-round pick in 2002.
– Looking to add depth at running back, the Cincinnati Bengals acquired Brian Leonard in a trade with the St. Louis Rams on Thursday. The Rams got reserve defensive tackle Orien Harris.
MILLEN
BRISTOL, Conn. ó Matt Millen is a lot more popular as a broadcaster than he was as an NFL executive.
The architect of the league’s first 0-16 team is joining ESPN as a football analyst. He was a successful commentator at CBS and Fox before taking over the Detroit Lions in 2001 ó and leading them to one of the worst eight-year stretches in NFL history.
REDSKINS
WASHINGTON ó Coach Jim Zorn praised the work of starting quarterback Jason Campbell and expressed satisfaction with the progress shown this week.
On the heels of a tumultuous offseason for Campbell in which the Redskins looked to trade for Jay Cutler, then sought to move up in the draft to select former Southern Cal quarterback Mark Sanchez, Zorn applauded Campbell’s performance in the sessions.
“I really liked the position that Jason’s getting himself in,” Zorn said.
JETS
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. ó Kellen Clemens’ cell phone rang a few hours after the NFL draft, and the New York Jets quarterback didn’t recognize the number.
He was surprised by who was on the other end. It was Mark Sanchez, the fifth overall pick who’ll compete with Clemens.
“It meant a lot,” Clemens recalled during team workouts Thursday. “That’s a really classy thing for that kid to do. We had a 5- or 10-minute conversation. That’s our only correspondence so far, but talk about getting a competitive relationship off on the right foot, that was a neat thing that he did.”
DOLPHINS
MIAMI ó The Miami Dolphins are renaming their home Landshark Stadium as part of a partnership with singer Jimmy Buffett.
The name change from Dolphin Stadium is the fifth since the stadium opened in 1987. Buffett’s Margaritaville enterprise includes Landshark Lager, brewed by Anheuser-Busch.
Buffett and new Dolphins owner Stephen Ross are friends. They plan to unveil a new logo for the stadium at a private event Friday, where Buffett will perform a song inspired by the Dolphins.