Preston Terrance Williams (born March 27, 1997) 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 ...

wide receiver for the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL). 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 ...

Colorado State Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...

. He has played in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for 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 ...

and

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

Early years

Williams attended Lovejoy High School in

Lovejoy, Georgia Lovejoy is a city in Clayton County, Georgia, Clayton County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the city had a population of 6,422, up from 2,495 in 2000. During the American Civil War, ...

. At Lovejoy, Williams was the 2013

Georgia High School Association The Georgia High School Association (GHSA) is an organization that governs athletics and activities for member high schools in Georgia, USA. GHSA is a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations. The association has 463 pu ...

champion in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

. He committed to the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

to play

and track and field.

College career

Williams played at Tennessee for two seasons from 2015 to 2016. He recorded 16 receptions for 247 yards and two

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 ...

over that time. He transferred to

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...

in 2017. After sitting out the 2017 season due to

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

transfer rules, Williams had 96 receptions for 1,345 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2018. He led the

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is one of the collegiate athletic conferences affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) (formerly I-A). The MW officially began operations o ...

in receptions and receiving yards and finished second in receiving touchdowns. After the 2018 season, he entered the

2019 NFL Draft The 2019 NFL Draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee. The first round was held on April 2 ...

, forgoing his senior season.

Professional career

Miami Dolphins

Williams signed with the

as an undrafted free agent on May 9, 2019. He made the final 53-man roster. He made his NFL debut in the Dolphins' 2019 season opener 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 the 59–10 loss, he had three receptions for 24 yards and his first professional touchdown. In Week 9, Williams had five catches for 72 yards and two touchdowns in the 26–18 win over the

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

. However in the game, Williams left the game with a knee injury, and was diagnosed with a

torn ACL An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during inju ...

, ending his rookie season. He finished the season with 32 catches for 428 yards and three touchdowns as the team's leading receiver at the time of his injury. In Week 5 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 recorded four catches for 108 yards and a 32-yard touchdown reception during the 43–17 win. On November 11, 2020, Williams was placed on

injured reserve 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 foot injury. In the 2020 season, Williams appeared in eight games and recorded 18 receptions for 288 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns. In the 2021 season, Williams had six receptions for 71 yards in eight games and three starts. On March 15, 2022, Williams signed a one-year contract extension with the Dolphins. He was waived on August 30, 2022.

Carolina Panthers

On September 5, 2022, Williams signed with the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

of the

. He was signed to the active roster on January 7, 2023. He appeared in the team's Week 18 game against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

, but only saw two offensive snaps and was not targeted. On May 18, Williams was released by Carolina.

DC Defenders

On December 14, 2023, Williams was signed by the

DC Defenders The DC Defenders are a professional American football team based in Washington, D.C. The team was founded by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL owned by Dwayne Johnson’s Alpha Acquico. The ...

of the United Football League (UFL). He was waived on March 5, 2024.

Montreal Alouettes

On May 3, 2023, Williams was signed by the

of the

(CFL).

References

External links

Colorado State Rams bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Preston 1997 births Living people Players of American football from Clayton County, Georgia American football wide receivers Tennessee Volunteers football players Colorado State Rams football players Miami Dolphins players Carolina Panthers players Track and field athletes from Georgia (U.S. state) Colorado State Rams men's track and field athletes DC Defenders players American male long jumpers