Aaron Williams (born April 23, 1990) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

. He was drafted by the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Early years

Williams attended

McNeil High School McNeil High School (commonly known as MHS or McNeil) is a public secondary school in an unincorporated area in both Travis and Williamson counties, near Austin, Texas, United States. Serving freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. The school ...

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

. He was considered the top

recruit by ''

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'' and the second best

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

recruit by ''

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'' in 2008. He was selected 1st team All-State by Dave Campbell Texas Football magazine and was also named to the 2008 Parade All-American team. Williams was named an outstanding performer at the 2007 Army National Combine which led to him being selected to the 2008 U.S. Army All-American Bowl game. He was also a two-year letterman in

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

and

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

. He chose Texas over offers from Baylor and USC.

College career

As a freshman in 2008, Williams started one of 13 games at cornerback, recording 13 tackles and an

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

which was returned 81 yards for a

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

. As a sophomore in 2009, he played in 13 games, missing one due to an injury, and recorded 31 tackles, two sacks and three interceptions. As a junior in 2010, he started 11 games, missing two due to an injury, and recorded 45 tackles, one quarterback sack, and two forced fumbles.

Professional career

2011 NFL Draft

Williams was selected by the

as the second pick of the second round (no. 34 overall) in the 2011 NFL Draft.

Buffalo Bills

Following an up and down first two seasons at

, Williams was moved to

for the 2013 season. On March 5, 2014, Williams signed a four-year, $26 million extension with the Bills. In 2015, Williams was injured in a Week 2 game against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

while attempting a flying goal line tackle on

Julian Edelman Julian Francis Edelman (born May 22, 1986) is a former American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons with the New England Patriots. He played college football at Kent State as a Quarterback and ...

. He was completely motionless on the turf, and was taken off the field in an ambulance. Early reports stated he suffered a neck injury. In 2016, during a Week 3 game against the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

, Williams scored his first NFL touchdown, returning a botched field goal attempt for the score. In Week 7, Williams suffered another serious neck injury after a hit by

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

wide receiver

Jarvis Landry Jarvis Charles Landry (born November 28, 1992) is an American football wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at LSU and was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the second round ...

. He was placed on injured reserve on November 1, 2016, effectively ending his season. On March 9, 2017, Williams was released by the Bills. On January 31, 2018, Williams announced his retirement from the NFL after six seasons in Buffalo. His retirement came after multiple head and neck injuries throughout his career, citing it was the main concern of other teams not signing him after workouts in 2017, including the Jaguars, Texans, and Chiefs.

References

External links

Buffalo Bills bioTexas Longhorns bioNFL combine bioESPN bioAaron Williams' Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Aaron 1990 births Living people Players of American football from San Jose, California African-American players of American football American football cornerbacks American football safeties Texas Longhorns football players Buffalo Bills players 21st-century African-American sportspeople