Williamses meet with NFL today

Vikings Pro Bowl defensive tackles Kevin and Pat Williams are scheduled to be at the NFL offices in New York today to appeal four-game suspensions for testing positive for a banned diuretic that can serve as a masking agent for steroids.

While the hearings will be on the same day, the cases will be heard separately. Both players will have team and legal representation that is expected to include Vikings owner Zygi Wilf and Kevin Warren, the Vikings vice president of legal affairs and chief administrative officer. Pat Williams' agent, Angelo Wright, and Kevin Williams' agent, Tom Condon, also will attend. It’s believed the Williamses went to New York on one of Wilf’s private planes.

The Vikings have had little to say about this situation since Fox Sports reported in late October that the Williamses were among a group of six to eight players who had been found to have banned a diuretic known as bumetanide in their systems. Bumetanide can aid in weight loss, but the NFL considers it a masking agent.

Asked Wednesday if he was leaving for New York, Kevin Williams said: "Why even go there? You know we ain't talking about that."

A possible defense for the Williamses came to light Wednesday, a day after the lawyer for three New Orleans Saints players facing similar suspensions said the NFL's drug administrator acknowledged he did not inform NFL players that the supplement StarCaps contained bumetanide. StarCaps, a product produced by California-based Balanced Health Products, has been at the center of the controversy because it did not list bumetanide as an ingredient.

Attorney David Cornwell said during the appeals Tuesday that Dr. John Lombardo's testimony proved none of his clients -- Saints players Deuce McAllister, Will Smith and Charles Grant -- took steroids. Cornwell said in an e-mail that Lombardo testified he learned in late 2006 that StarCaps contained bumetanide. Lombardo's reasoning, according to Cornwell, is that "he feared that a specific warning regarding StarCaps could be used as a defense to alleged violations of the steroid policy that involved weight reduction products other than StarCaps."

"If Dr. Lombardo had notified NFL players that StarCaps contained bumetanide, Will, Deuce and Charles would have never used the product to lose weight," Cornwell said.

Unlike the Williamses, the Saints players elected to appeal their cases together.

• Vikings coach Brad Childress said cornerback/punt returner Charles Gordon had surgery on his broken left ankle in North Carolina and has returned to the team. Childress said the team has not made a roster move to fill Gordon's spot.

• Defensive end Jared Allen (shoulder), tight end Garrett Mills (ankle) and receiver Bobby Wade (thigh) did not practice Wednesday. Linebacker Vinny Ciurciu (hand), cornerback Benny Sapp (concussion) and safety Madieu Williams (shoulder) had limited participation. Wade was injured early in Sunday's game at Tampa Bay but was able to return and is expected to play this Sunday at Jacksonville. 

• The Jaguars injury report included running backs Greg Jones (ankle) and Fred Taylor (neck), cornerbacks Omare Lowe (knee) and Rashean Mathis (foot), wide receivers Troy Williamson (groin) and Matt Jones (thigh) and defensive tackle John Henderson (knee).

The Associated Press and staff writer Chip Scoggins contributed to this report.