Leon E'srom Williams (born July 30, 1983) 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 ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

. He played for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

and

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 ...

. He was drafted by the Browns in the fourth round of the

2006 NFL Draft The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with ad ...

. Williams was also a member of the

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of the United Football League (UFL). 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 ...

at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

Early years

A native of Brooklyn, New York City where he attended

Canarsie High School Canarsie High School, which opened in 1964, is a defunct public high school in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Canarsie in New York City. Closed in 2011, the building currently operates as Canarsie Educational Campus, housing several smaller high sch ...

in Brooklyn, New York, 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 ...

for the Chiefs under coach Mike Camerdese and graduated in 2001. As a junior, he played

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

, catching and 20 passes for 219 yards and 3 touchdowns. As a senior, he was moved to linebacker, collecting 98 tackles, 12 sacks, 4 fumble recoveries and 3 interceptions. Williams was named USA Today 1st team All American and awarded Gatorade Player of the Year in 2000-01 (NY). SuperPrep All-American and a member of SuperPrep's Elite 50 top national prospects...No. 27 prospect overall, regardless of position. He also participated in the first-ever

U.S. Army All-American Bowl The All-American Bowl is a high school football all-star game, held annually at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Typically played in January, the All-American Bowl is played between all-star teams representing the eastern and western United S ...

game on December 30, 2000 and was named Defensive player of the game.

College career

Williams accepted a football scholarship from the

. As a redshirt freshman, he was a backup

middle linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

and played on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. He had 14 tackles (nine solos). As a sophomore, he appeared in all 13 games, tallying 23 tackles (one for loss). As a junior in 2004, he was a Butkus Award finalist and was considered the heir apparent to Jonathan Vilma. He started at

in the season opener against

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

, making 3 tackles before suffering a hand injury. He missed the next two games. He appeared in 10 games with 5 starts, making 56 tackles (8 for loss), 2.5 sacks, one pass defensed, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. As a senior in 2005, he was a Butkus Award semi-finalist. He started in every game at middle linebacker, posting 54 tackles (3.5 for loss), 2 pass defensed and one fumble recovery. He contributed to the team ranking fourth in the nation in total defense, allowing 270.1 yards-per-game. He finished his college career with 47 games, 146 tackles (12. 5 tackles for loss), 2.5 sacks, 4 pass defensed, 36

tackles, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He was an Arts and Science major.

Professional career

Cleveland Browns

Williams was selected by the

in the fourth round (110th overall) of the

. As a rookie, he played in 16 regular season games with 3 starts, registering 37 tackles, one sack, 2 quarterback hurries, 16

tackles (fourth on the team), 2 passes defensed and one forced fumble. He made his NFL debut at the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

on 17 September. His 17 tackles versus 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 ...

on 24 December were a career-high. In 2007, he started 9 out of 16 games as a backup

, making 90 tackles (fifth on the team) and 4 sacks (tied for second on the team). He had 13 tackles against the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

. In 2008, he appeared in 14 games as a backup

and tallied 42 tackles. The Browns waived him on September 15, 2009.

New York Sentinels (UFL)

In 2009, he was signed by the

of the United Football League.

Dallas Cowboys

On January 12, 2010, he signed a future contract with the

. He was placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

with a hamstring injury on December 31. He appeared in 11 games, making 6 defensive tackles, 8

tackles (eighth on the team) and one fumble recovery. He wasn't re-signed after the season.

Kansas City Chiefs

On May 16, 2012, Williams signed with the

. He was cut prior to the 2012 season but was again signed by the team on December 6. He appeared in 4 games and wasn't re-signed after the season.

References

External links

Miami Hurricanes bioCleveland Browns bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Leon 1983 births Living people People from Canarsie, Brooklyn Players of American football from Brooklyn Players of American football from New York (state) American football linebackers Miami Hurricanes football players Cleveland Browns players New York Sentinels players Dallas Cowboys players Kansas City Chiefs players Canarsie High School alumni