Mike Williams (wide receiver)

Infobox NFLactive
name=Mike Williams


currentteam= Detroit Lions
currentnumber=--
currentposition=Wide receiver
birthdate=birth date and age|1984|1|4
birthplace=Tampa, Florida
heightft=6
heightin=5
weight=242
debutyear=2005
debutteam=Detroit Lions
college=Southern California
draftyear=2005
draftround=1
draftpick=10
pastteams=
* Detroit Lions (2005-2006)
* Oakland Raiders (2007)
* Tennessee Titans (2007)
status=
highlights=
* College awards and honors
nfl=WIL447983

Mike Williams (born January 4, 1984 in city-state|Tampa|Florida) is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions 10th overall in the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Southern California.

Williams has also played for the Oakland Raiders and Tennessee Titans.

Early years

Growing up, Williams was a Buffalo Bills fan. His favorite player was Barry Sanders (who played for the Detroit Lions), whom he enjoyed watching games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, his hometown team. Williams attended Henry B. Plant High School (also attended by Wade Boggs) in Tampa, Florida.

High school football

As a senior, Williams had 38 receptions for 789 yards (20.8 avg.) with 12 touchdowns. Williams' honors included Tom Lemming All-American, Super Prep All-Dixie, PrepStar All-Southeast Region, St. Petersburg Times All-Suncoast second team, and Tampa Tribune All-Hillsborough County

During his junior year, Williams made the All-State Class 4A second team while making 35 receptions for 803 yards (22.9 avg.) and 12 touchdowns.

As a sophomore, Williams made 28 receptions for 631 yards (22.5 avg.).

Career statistics

("* represents NFL Combine")

Detroit Lions

He was selected 10th overall in the 2005 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions, the third WR drafted in the first round in as many years by the Lions. Williams selected jersey #88, which had been retired in honor of Hall of Fame tight end Charlie Sanders.

As a rookie in 2005, Williams, appeared in 14 games with four starts. Williams recorded his first touchdown catch in his NFL debut, a 3-yard pass from quarterback Joey Harrington, in the season opener against Green Bay. Williams made his first career start against the Ravens and had 1 reception for 7 yards. Williams had a career long, 49 yard reception in Cleveland. He finished that game with 5 receptions for 95 yards. Williams then again started in Minnesota and had 4 receptions for 43 yards. Three-of-four receptions were for first downs. Williams was then inactive for the Lions game in Dallas due to an injured ankle. Williams had a season-high 6 receptions for 84 yards against Atlanta. Had a 21-yard reception for a first down in New Orleans on the Lions opening drive.

He finished his rookie season with 29 receptions for 350 yards and a touchdown while playing in 14 games with four starts.

In 2006, Williams was on the inactive list for both of the Lions' first two games. He played in just eight games in the 2006 season, and made eight catches for 99 yards and one touchdown. During the Lions' Week 15 loss at Green Bay, Williams led the Lions in receiving yards after catching three passes for 42 yards. Williams caught two more passes in a Week 16 loss to Chicago, but posted several drops as well, and was unable to secure a potential game-winning touchdown pass thrown by Jon Kitna as time expired. During the Lions' Week 17 win on the road in Dallas, Williams caught two passes for 28 yards, including a fourth quarter 21-yard touchdown pass.

Oakland Raiders

Williams was traded along with Josh McCown to the Oakland Raiders during the first day of the 2007 NFL Draft in exchange for a 2007 fourth-round pick which the Lions used to select A.J. Davis. In Oakland, Williams reunited with his former college positions coach Lane Kiffin, then the head coach of the Oakland Raiders.

On October 28, 2007 in a road game against the Tennessee Titans, Raiders quarterback Daunte Culpepper threw a pass to Williams which, if caught, would have given the Raiders the first down and brought them into the red zone. Instead, Williams dropped the football and the Raiders lost possession, on a turnover on downs, and lost the game because the Titans maintained possession for the remaining time on the clock. Williams' error turned out to be his last play with Oakland as the Raiders released him a few days afterward. [ [http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2007/10/30/raiders-cut-mike-williams/ Raiders Cut Mike Williams - FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog] ]

Tennessee Titans

Williams signed with the Tennessee Titans on November 22, 2007 [cite web|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/teams/transactions?team=ten&year=2007 |title= Tennessee Titants 2007 Transactions|accessdate=2007-11-23|publisher= ESPN.com] , reuniting him with former USC running back LenDale White and his former offensive coordinator from USC, Norm Chow. ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported that Williams weighed 271 pounds at the time of the signing - an unusually high weight for a wide receiver. Williams has had weight issues throughout his career, and some schools recruited him as a tight end out of high school.Fact|date=February 2008 He was inactive for his first game with the team. Williams lost 30 pounds in the off-season by boxing, playing basketball, and doing pilates. He reported to OTA's in May 2008 at 240 pounds. On July 31, the Titans released Williams [http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/trainingcamp08/news/story?id=3513525&campaign=rss&source=ESPNHeadlines] .

Career statistics

References

External links

* [http://www.detroitlions.com/bio.cfm?bio_id=272&season=8 Detroit Lions bio]
* [http://www.raiders.com/Team/PlayerBio.aspx?id=20892 Oakland Raiders bio]
* [http://www.titansonline.com/team/players/bio.php?PRKey=428 Tennessee Titans bio]
* [http://usctrojans.collegesports.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/williams_mike00.html USC Trojans bio]