Per Buffalo Bills beat reporter Jon Scott, former NFL wide receiver Mike Williams has passed away at the age of 36. Per Scott, Williams died due to injuries he sustained “during an accident while working at a construction site.”
After spending his collegiate days playing for the Syracuse Orange, Williams was drafted in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. As a rookie, Williams had arguably the best season of his five-year career. He caught 65 passes for 964 yards and added 11 receiving touchdowns.
Williams was shaping up to be one of the biggest steals of the 2010 NFL Draft through his first three seasons with the Bucs. However, that all changed in 2013 when Williams tore his hamstring, which forced him to miss the final 10 games of the 2013 season.
Instead of waiting for Williams to get back to full strength, the Bucs elected to trade him to the Buffalo Bills that following offseason. Williams was a Buffalo native, so the trade to the Bills was seen as an exciting homecoming for him.
Unfortunately for Williams the Bills, it didn’t exactly work out how they had hoped. Williams was only able to suit up for nine games in 2014 due to a calf injury, catching eight passes for 142 yards before the Bills ultimately placed Williams on injured reserve and waived him two weeks later.
Once his time in Buffalo came to an end, Williams struggled to land an opportunity in the NFL. He had a brief stint with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2016 before they released him that summer.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the Williams family during this difficult time.
