Michael Anthony Williams (May 18, 1987 – September 12, 2023) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

for five seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Syracuse Orange The Syracuse Orange are the college athletics in the United States, athletic teams that represent Syracuse University. The school is a member of NCAA Division I and the Atlantic Coast Conference. Until 2013, Syracuse was a member of the Big East ...

, and was selected by the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

in the fourth round of the

2010 NFL draft The 2010 NFL draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 NFL draft, draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, with the first ...

. He also played in the NFL for the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

Early life

Williams attended

Riverside Institute of Technology Riverside Institute of Technology (formerly known as Riverside High School) was a public high school located in Buffalo, New York. It served Grades 9–12 and taught according to the Board of Regents. Riverside closed in June 2019 after years of l ...

. As a senior, he had 970 receiving yards and 15

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

on offense and 35 tackles and two

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team bu ...

on defense.

College career

As a

true freshman The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see '' Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

at Syracuse in 2006, Williams made 24 receptions for a team-leading 461 yards and four touchdowns in 10 games. As a sophomore in 2007 Williams was an all-

Big East The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

second-team selection. He finished the season tying a school record with 60 receptions for 837 yards and 10 touchdowns in 12 games. In June 2008, Williams was suspended for the 2008 season for academic reasons. On November 3, 2009, Williams quit the team after he was involved in a car accident with teammates Antwon Bailey, Andrew Tiller and Torrey Ball. He finished the 2009 season with 49 receptions for 746 yards and six touchdowns in seven games.

Professional career

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Williams was drafted by the

in the fourth round (101st overall) in the

. He was signed to a four-year contract on June 4, 2010. On September 12, 2010, he made his NFL debut against the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

, making five receptions for 30 yards and a touchdown. In his first pro season, Williams became the first Buccaneer rookie to score a touchdown in back-to-back games since Carnell Williams in 2005. On October 31, 2010, Williams recorded his first career 100-yard receiving game at Arizona, finishing with 105 yards on four receptions and a touchdown. Williams started all 16 games as a rookie and had 65 receptions for 964 yards and 11 touchdowns. His 11 touchdowns marked a new Buccaneers franchise record for most receiving touchdowns in a single season. After his rookie season, Williams finished second in voting for AP Offensive Rookie of the Year, and was a finalist for the NFL Pepsi Rookie of the Year. He was also named to The Sporting News NFL All- Rookie Team and PFW/PFWA All-Rookie Team and led all rookie receivers in the NFL in yardage (964), receptions (65) and touchdowns (11) in 2010. He was ranked 83rd by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2011. In 2011, Williams caught 68 passes for 771 yards. Williams finished the 2012 season with a career-high in receiving yards with 996. On July 24, 2013, it was reported that Williams had agreed to a new six-year, $40.25 million contract with the Buccaneers that would have kept him in Tampa Bay through the 2018 season. On October 28, the Bucs announced that they had placed Williams on injured reserve, ending his season and leaving the Buccaneers without one of their starting wideouts the rest of the way. Williams battled a hamstring injury for several weeks and finished the season with 22 catches for 216 yards and two touchdowns.

Buffalo Bills

On April 4, 2014, Williams was traded to the Buffalo Bills, his hometown team, for a 6th-round draft pick, just one season after signing a contract extension with the Buccaneers. During a week 4 game against the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

, Williams caught what would become his lone touchdown with the Bills, an 80-yard pass from

EJ Manuel Erik Rodriguez "EJ" Manuel Jr. (born March 19, 1990) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida State Seminoles, leading them to an A ...

. On October 13, 2014, it was reported that Williams had asked the Bills for a trade. Williams was placed on the waived/injured list on December 8, 2014. He went unclaimed during the waiver process, and was placed on the Bills injured reserve list the next day. On December 22, 2014, Williams recovered from his calf injury and was released by the Bills. Williams was suspended by the NFL for the first six weeks of the 2015 season on September 8, 2015, for an undisclosed issue.

Kansas City Chiefs

On April 25, 2016, Williams signed with 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

. On August 25, 2016, Williams was released by the Chiefs.

NFL career statistics

*''Bold denotes career high''

Personal life

Williams had a daughter with Tierney Lyle, in addition to a son with another woman.

Death

Williams worked in construction in the

Tampa Bay area The Tampa Bay area is a major metropolitan area surrounding Tampa Bay on the Gulf Coast of Florida in the United States. It includes the main cities of Tampa, Florida, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater, Florida, Clea ...

following his NFL career. On August 21, 2023, he was injured in a worksite accident in which a steel beam fell on his head. Though he initially returned home, he was admitted to St. Joseph's Hospital in

Tampa Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

the following day, with acute

respiratory failure Respiratory failure results from inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, meaning that the arterial oxygen, carbon dioxide, or both cannot be kept at normal levels. A drop in the oxygen carried in the blood is known as hypoxemia; a r ...

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

, and

sepsis Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage of sepsis is followed by suppression of the immune system. Common signs and s ...

diagnosed at the time of his admission. He was later reported to be paralyzed in his right arm and from the waist down. While Williams initially appeared to be faring better after surgery, his condition declined rapidly and he was placed in a

medically induced coma An induced comaalso known as a medically induced coma (MIC), barbiturate-induced coma, or drug-induced comais a temporary coma (a deep state of unconsciousness) brought on by a controlled dose of an anesthetic drug, often a barbiturate such as pe ...

. After the release of conflicting reports as to whether he had died or not, on September 6, Lyle reported that he was alive and on

life support Life support comprises the treatments and techniques performed in an emergency in order to support life after the failure of one or more vital organs. Healthcare providers and emergency medical technicians are generally certified to perform bas ...

. By September 7, Lyle stated that Williams had been taken off life support, but was surviving and responsive. However, he died five days later on September 12, at the age of 36. The medical examiner's report concluded that Williams died from bacterial sepsis caused by

tooth decay Tooth decay, also known as caries,The word 'caries' is a mass noun, and is not a plural of 'carie'.'' is the breakdown of teeth due to acids produced by bacteria. The resulting cavities may be a number of different colors, from yellow to black ...

; his death was ruled to be from natural causes.

References

External links

Syracuse Orange bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Mike 1987 births 2023 deaths Players of American football from Buffalo, New York American football wide receivers Syracuse Orange football players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Buffalo Bills players Kansas City Chiefs players Deaths from sepsis in the United States Infectious disease deaths in Florida