Damien Williams (born April 3, 1992) is an

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 ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

who is a free agent. 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 ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. He was signed by the

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 ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2014. He has also played for the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

and won

Super Bowl LIV Super Bowl LIV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2019 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Kansas City Chiefs defeated the National Football Conferenc ...

with the team. In that Super Bowl, he scored the Chiefs' game-clinching touchdown on a 38-yard run with less than two minutes left in the game.

Early years

Williams attended his freshman year and played varsity at

El Cajon Valley High School El Cajon Valley High School (ECVHS) is a comprehensive public secondary school located in El Cajon, California, which is in the eastern county of San Diego, and serves students in grades nine through twelve. Established in 1955, El Cajon Valley is ...

. Over the next three years, he played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

Mira Mesa Senior High School Mira Mesa Senior High School (MMHS) is a public high school in the San Diego Unified School District. The school is recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School and a California Distinguished School. The school has an overall rating of 9.6/10 acco ...

College career

Williams was originally expected to play

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

but did not meet the ACT test score requirement. So he played at

Arizona Western College Arizona Western College (AWC) is a public community college in Yuma, Arizona. It offers associate degrees, occupational certificates, and transfer degrees. AWC also offers classes in Dateland, La Paz, San Luis, Somerton, and Wellton. Aca ...

before transferring to the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

in 2012. In November 2013, he was dismissed from Oklahoma after violating team rules. In two seasons with the Sooners, he rushed for 1,499 yards with 18

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether Rush (gridiron football), running, Forward pass, passing, returning a Kickoff (gridiron football), kickoff or Punt (gridiron football), punt, or recovering a Turno ...

, including a 95-yard touchdown run against Texas in 2012.

Collegiate statistics

Professional career

Miami Dolphins

2014 season

Williams was signed by the

after going

undrafted In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in the

2014 NFL Draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

Williams made his NFL debut in the 2014 season opener 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 ...

. He had one kick return for 19 yards in the 33–20 victory. In the next game, a 29–10 loss to 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. ...

, he had five carries for 19 yards. In Week 16, against the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

, he had six receptions for 50 yards and his first professional touchdown. Overall, he finished the 2014 season with 36 carries for 122 yards and 21 receptions for 187 yards and a touchdown.

2015 season

During Week 2, in a 23–20 loss to the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

, Williams had a receiving touchdown. He finished the 2015 season with 21 receptions for 142 yards and a touchdown.

2016 season

In 2016, Williams played in 15 games, rushing for 115 yards and three touchdowns while recording 23 receptions for 249 yards and three touchdowns. The Dolphins made the playoffs and faced off against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

in the Wild Card Round. In the 30–12 defeat, he had a four-yard receiving touchdown.

2017 season

Set to be a restricted free agent in 2017, the Dolphins tendered Williams at the lowest level. After reportedly wanting a larger contract than the $1.797 million tender for 2017, he officially signed the tender on May 11, 2017. Williams entered the 2017 season second on the Dolphins running back depth chart behind

Jay Ajayi Jay Ajayi (born 15 June 1993) is a former American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) and professional ''FIFA'' esports player. He played five seasons with the Miami Dolphins and Philadelphia Eagles. He play ...

. After Ajayi was traded to the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

, he was named the starting running back ahead of

Kenyan Drake Kenyan Drake (born January 26, 1994) is an American football running back and kick returner for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama. Drake was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the th ...

. Williams started four games before suffering a shoulder injury in Week 12. He was diagnosed with a dislocated shoulder and was expected to be out for two to three weeks. He ended up missing the remainder of the season. Williams finished the season with 46 carries for 181 rushing yards along with 20 receptions for 155 yards and a receiving touchdown.

Kansas City Chiefs

2018 season

Williams signed with the

on March 22, 2018. Williams's role increased after the release of former starter,

Kareem Hunt Kareem AJ Hunt (born August 6, 1995) is an American football running back for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Toledo and was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the third round of the ...

. On December 27, 2018, the Chiefs signed Williams to a two-year, $8.1 million contract extension. Williams finished the 2018 season with 256 rushing yards, four rushing touchdowns, 23 receptions, 160 receiving yards, and two receiving touchdowns. He was called upon in the playoffs as the Chiefs' feature back. In the Divisional Round victory over the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

, he had 129 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown to go along with five receptions for 25 receiving yards. In the

AFC Championship The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world. ...

against the

, he had 30 rushing yards, a rushing touchdown, five receptions, 66 receiving yards, and two receiving touchdowns in the 37–31 overtime loss.

2019 season

During Week 9 against the

, Williams rushed 12 times for 125 yards and a 91-yard touchdown in the 26–23 win. This was his first game with at least 100 rushing yards of the season. The 91-yard run tied

Jamaal Charles Jamaal RaShaad Jones Charles (born December 27, 1986) is a former American football running back. He played college football for the University of Texas, where he won the 2006 Rose Bowl, and was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the third ro ...

for the longest touchdown run in franchise history. In the regular-season finale against the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

, Williams rushed 12 times for 124 yards and two touchdowns, including an 84-yard touchdown, and caught four passes for 30 yards during the 31–21 win. Williams finished the 2019 season with 498 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns to go along with 30 receptions for 213 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns. In the Divisional Round of the playoffs against the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

, he rushed 12 times for 47 yards and two touchdowns and caught two passes for 21 yards and a touchdown during the 51–31 win. In the

against the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

, Williams rushed 17 times for 45 yards and a touchdown and caught five passes for 44 yards during the 35–24 win. In

against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

, Williams rushed 17 times for 104 yards, including a 38-yard touchdown, and caught four passes for 29 yards and a touchdown during the 31–20 win. He scored a receiving touchdown with 2:44 left in the game that gave the Chiefs the lead. He then scored the game clinching rushing touchdown that gave the Chiefs a 10 point lead with 1:12 left in the game. He is the first player in Super Bowl history with at least 100 rushing yards while recording a rushing and receiving touchdown.

2020 season

On July 29, 2020, the Chiefs announced that Williams would opt out of the season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. The following day, he announced on

Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...

NFL radio that the reason he opted out was because his mother had recently been diagnosed with stage IV cancer. Without him, the Chiefs reached

Super Bowl LV Super Bowl LV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2020 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the American Football Conferen ...

, but lost 9–31 to the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

. He was released after the season on March 16, 2021.

Chicago Bears

On March 26, 2021, Williams signed a one-year contract with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

. In the 2021 season, Williams had 40 carries for 164 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns to go along with 16 receptions for 103 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown in 12 games.

Atlanta Falcons

On March 17, 2022, Williams signed a one-year contract with the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

. He suffered a rib injury in Week 1 and was placed on injured reserve on September 17, 2022. He was released on December 12, 2022.https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/football/news/damien-williams-waived-from-ir/amp/

NFL career statistics

References

External links

Atlanta Falcons bioOklahoma Sooners bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Damien 1992 births Living people Players of American football from San Diego African-American players of American football American football running backs Arizona Western Matadors football players Oklahoma Sooners football players Miami Dolphins players Kansas City Chiefs players Chicago Bears players 21st-century African-American sportspeople Atlanta Falcons players