Stephen Cabot Williams (born September 21, 1981) is a former professional

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

. He was signed by 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 ...

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 2006. 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 Northwest Missouri State. Williams has also been a member of the

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 ...

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 ...

, and

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

Early years

Williams attended

Bolingbrook High School Bolingbrook High School or The Brook is a public four-year high school located in Bolingbrook, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. Bolingbrook High School is the second high school in the Valley View Community U ...

Bolingbrook, Illinois The village of Bolingbrook is a southwest suburb of Chicago in Will and DuPage counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Per the 2020 census, the population was 73,922. As of 2010, it is the 17th largest incorporated place in Illinois and the sta ...

, where he earned all-state honors in football and was a state champion in

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

College career

After graduating from

, Williams attended

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

, where he played in 10 games as a freshman in 2000, recording 10 tackles. In his 2001 sophomore season, Williams had one sack and 17 tackles in 11 games played. He transferred to

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois. It was founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of the state's system ...

in 2002 but did not play. He returned to play football in 2004 with Northwest Missouri State University, where he was a first-team All- MIAA selection with 52 tackles. In 2005, appeared in five games and recorded 31 tackles.

Professional career

Kansas City Chiefs

After going undrafted in 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 signed with the

on May 17, 2006. He was released by the Chiefs following final cuts on September 2 and re-signed to their

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, ...

two days later. He was promoted to the Chiefs' 53-man roster on September 28 and released from it on November 16. He returned to the practice squad on November 20 and to the 53-man roster on November 28, where he spent the remainder of the season. He finished the 2006 season with four tackles in 11 games played. He was released by the Chiefs on February 21, 2007.

Carolina Panthers

Williams was signed by the

on March 16, 2007. He was placed on the team's

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 ...

list on September 1, and released from it five days later with an injury settlement. He was re-signed by the Panthers following the season on April 7, 2008. He was again released by the team on August 30, 2008.

New England Patriots

After spending the 2008 season out of football, Williams was signed by the

on May 4, 2009. He was waived on September 4, 2009.

BC Lions

Williams signed with the

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 ...

on September 22, 2009. After spending parts of two seasons with the club, he was released on January 28, 2011.

Return to New England

The Patriots re-signed Williams on July 29, 2011. He was waived on August 13.

References

External links

New England Patriots bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Steve 1981 births Living people Sportspeople from Oak Park, Illinois Players of American football from Illinois African-American players of American football American football defensive tackles American football defensive ends Indiana Hoosiers football players Northern Illinois Huskies football players Northwest Missouri State Bearcats football players Kansas City Chiefs players Carolina Panthers players New England Patriots players BC Lions players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people