James Otis "Big Cat" Williams (born March 29, 1968) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a tackle in the National Football League (NFL), playing his entire 12-year career 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 ...

. Williams was 6'7" and 330-pounds.James Williams
nfl.com He has two children, Jai and Jia. Williams was signed as a free agent by Bill Tobin after the 1991 draft. He played defensive tackle on a 0–11 team at Cheyney State. Williams worked his way into the defensive line rotation his rookie season, substituting for Steve McMichael and

William Perry William Perry may refer to: Business * William Perry (Queensland businessman) (1835–1891), businessman and politician in Queensland, Australia * William H. Perry (businessman) (1832–1906), American businessman and entrepreneur Politics and ...

when needed. As a rookie, he blocked a field goal at Buffalo, picked up his first sack at Green Bay, and helped with the "push" on William Perry's game-saving field goal block against the New York Giants. Williams played sparingly on defense in 1992 and was inactive for five straight games. The second-year tackle did not make the starting lineup following the drafting of 1991 second-rounder

Chris Zorich Christopher Robert Zorich (born March 16, 1969) is a former American football defensive tackle who played in college for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears and Washington Redskins. Zori ...

. He was moved to offensive tackle midway through November, then to right tackle. Soon after, Williams relieved Keith Van Horne against Tampa in September, then was inactive for the final 12 games of the 1993 season. From 1994 through his final game with the Bears in 2002, Williams started 134 games at right tackle. He missed limited action throughout those seasons and played every snap in 1995. In addition to his starting duties, Williams blocked or deflected eight field goal attempts through 2001. He was chosen as a Pro Bowl alternate after the 1998 season and voted to his first All-Pro game following the 2001 season, during which the Bears finished 13–3. Williams was a team ambassador throughout his career, and was the veteran recipient of the Bears'

Brian Piccolo Award The Brian Piccolo Award is an honor that is given to players of the Chicago Bears. The award is given to one rookie and one veteran per season who best exemplifies the courage, loyalty, teamwork, dedication and sense of humor of the late Brian Pic ...

following the 2001 season. He appeared in an E-TV ''Wild on Chicago'' episode prior to the 2001 season. Williams was released by Chicago on February 26, 2003. Williams lives in

Lake Forest, Illinois Lake Forest is a city located in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 19,367. The city is along the shore of Lake Michigan, and is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the North Shore. Lake Forest ...

and in 2019 became an offensive lineman coach at Lake Forest High School.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, James O. 1968 births Living people American football offensive tackles Chicago Bears players National Conference Pro Bowl players Cheyney Wolves football players Taylor Allderdice High School alumni Ed Block Courage Award recipients Brian Piccolo Award winners