SAN ANTONIO ? The Ricky Williams the New Orleans Saints will face Sunday bears little physical resemblance to the one who once played for them.

“Ricky was so big and strong that at the point of contact he was getting three or four extra yards,” Saints defensive end Darren Howard said. “He’s not getting those three or four extra yards now because of his weight.”

Traded by New Orleans three years ago, a slimmed-down Williams and the Saints will oppose each other for the first time since the deal. The Saints (2-5) play the Miami Dolphins (2-4) at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.

“When he was here and when he first went to Miami, he was a real stocky dude,” Howard recalled. “Now, he’s about as big as Ronnie Brown.”

The Dolphins selected Brown in the first-round of this year’s draft. He’s listed at 232 pounds.

Williams, the Heisman Trophy winner at Texas in 1998, was out of uniform the first four games this season because of violations of the NFL substance-abuse policy. He’s listed at 226 pounds with the Dolphins. The Saints listed him at about 250 pounds in 2002.

In his two games back since the combination of the league suspension and his own decision to skip out on the 2004 season – a total of 20 regular-season games – Williams has carried the ball 11 times for just seven yards.

With Brown running for 438 yards on 91 carries this season, Williams is being worked into the offense at a slow pace.

“If you look at it that way, he looks pretty good,” cornerback Fred Thomas said of his now-svelte former teammate. “He’s running hard and pounding everybody. He just hasn’t had his chances.”

Saints receiver Joe Horn, who hopes to be back from a hamstring injury, remains in contact with Williams and enjoys a good relationship.

“It’s going to be a great feeling to see him and to know that he’s overcoming his odds,” Horn said.