Mike Williams (offensive lineman)

Mike Williams

No. --     Free Agent
Offensive tackle
Personal information
Date of birth: January 11, 1980 (1980-01-11) (age 31)
Place of birth: The Colony, Texas
Height: 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	Weight: 410 lb (186 kg)
Career information
College: Texas
NFL Draft: 2002 / Round: 1 / Pick: 4
Debuted in 2002 for the Buffalo Bills
Career history
Buffalo Bills (2002–2005) Jacksonville Jaguars (2006) Washington Redskins (2009–2010)
Career highlights and awards
First-team All-Big 12 (2001) Consensus First-team All-American (2001)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2010
Games played	59
Games started	56
Stats at NFL.com

Michael Deshaun "Mike" Williams (born January 11, 1980 in The Colony, Texas) is an American football offensive tackle who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills fourth overall in the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at Texas. Williams has also played for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Washington Redskins.

Williams is widely considered to be a draft bust due to his high pick and corresponding lack of success. The Sporting News named Williams as the #4 biggest NFL draft bust from 1989-2008.^[1]

College career

Williams played right tackle for the Texas Longhorns in college, protecting quarterbacks Major Applewhite and Chris Simms.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Because Simms was left-handed, this led to Williams being projected as a top prospect for left tackle, widely considered the most important position on the offensive line. He was considered one of the two top prospects in the 2002 NFL Draft, alongside Bryant McKinnie, a natural left tackle from the University of Miami.

Buffalo Bills

Williams was drafted by the Buffalo Bills with the fourth overall pick in the first round of the draft, three picks ahead of McKinnie. After starting several games at right tackle, he was eventually moved to left tackle, but largely disappointed. He was widely seen as a draft bust and eventually lost the starting job to undrafted free agent Jason Peters. After a failed attempt to convert Williams to guard, and spending some spot duty at defensive tackle in goal-line situation, he was released in the 2006 offseason.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Williams was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars on March 14, 2006.^[2]

Washington Redskins

Williams spent two years out of football before he gave the NFL another shot and signed with the Washington Redskins on April 24, 2009.^[3] At the time he weighed close to 410 pounds and there was some doubt regarding his ability to handle playing tackle again. Williams eventually lost nearly 70 pounds in order to play the position, but struggled when doing so. Because of constant injuries to the Redskins' offensive line, Williams was moved to right guard, where he played well and started eight games at the position. Williams was rewarded for his efforts on March 6, 2010 with a new two-year contract after new head coach Mike Shanahan and his staff reviewed game film of him.^[4][5]

On July 10, 2010, it was reported by the Washington Post that Williams would miss the entire 2010 season due to blood clots near his heart.^[4] Williams was later released by Washington on July 30, 2011.

References

1. ^ 10-Pack: 10 biggest first-round draft busts of the last 20 years
2. ^ "Jags sign former Bills offensive tackle Mike Williams". ESPN.com. March 14, 2006. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=nfl&id=2368142. Retrieved 2010-07-12. 
3. ^ "REDSKINS SIGN OFFENSIVE TACKLE WILLIAMS, RELEASE JOHNSON". The Canadian Press. April 24, 2009. http://www.tsn.ca/nfl/story/?id=276334. Retrieved 2010-07-12. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Reid, Jason (July 10, 2010). "Redskins lineman Mike Williams expected to miss season because of blood clots". Washington Post. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/redskinsinsider/offensive-line/redskins-lineman-mike-williams.html. Retrieved 2010-07-12. 
5. ^ "Redskins make splash with restraint". ESPN.com. March 6, 2010. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4968849. Retrieved 2010-07-12. 

External links

• Washington Redskins bio

Persondata
Name	Williams, Mike
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	January 11, 1980
Place of birth	The Colony, Texas
Date of death
Place of death