Chris Williams
refer to caption
Williams with the St. Louis Rams in 2013
No. 74, 65, 58
Position:Guard
Personal information
Born: (1985-08-26) August 26, 1985 (age 38)
Glynn, Louisiana, U.S.
Height:6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight:320 lb (145 kg)
Career information
High school:Catholic
(Baton Rouge, Louisiana)
College:Vanderbilt (2004–2007)
NFL draft:2008 / Round: 1 / Pick: 14
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games played:72
Games started:57
Player stats at NFL.com

Christopher Joseph Williams (born August 26, 1985) is a former American football guard. He played college football at Vanderbilt and was drafted by the Chicago Bears 14th overall in the 2008 NFL Draft. Williams also played for the St. Louis Rams and the Buffalo Bills.

College career

After graduating from Catholic High School (Baton Rouge, Louisiana), Williams attended Vanderbilt where he played in 36 games and started 33 games. In 2007, he was First-team All-Southeastern Conference after allowing just one sack in 12 games. As a junior, Williams was a Second-team All-SEC selection after starting all 12 games at left tackle and allowing a single quarterback sack. The prior season Williams played all twelve games, starting nine at left guard but also playing left tackle. Williams was redshirted as a true freshman and did not see action the following season either.

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 6 in
(1.98 m) 		315 lb
(143 kg) 		33+1⁄2 in
(0.85 m) 		10 in
(0.25 m)		 5.17 s 1.78 s 2.98 s 4.85 s 7.95 s 25.0 in
(0.64 m)		 8 ft 7 in
(2.62 m)		 21 reps
All values from NFL Combine[1]

Chicago Bears

Williams was drafted by the Bears in the first round with the 14th overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft.[2] On July 23, 2008, it was announced that he had signed a five-year contract with the Bears.[3] Williams missed the camp's first weekend after sustaining a minor back injury.[4] He was later diagnosed with separate injury, a herniated disc, which required minor surgery to repair.[5]

Williams started taking part in conditioning and work-out drills in September.[6] On November 2, 2008, he made his professional debut on the special teams in a win against the Detroit Lions.[7] Williams was a starter in 2009, and played at right tackle to accommodate Orlando Pace, whom the team acquired via free agency on April 2, 2009.[8] Smith eventually moved Williams back to left tackle after Pace was faced with inconsistent play and injuries. His first major test was to protect Jay Cutler's blindside against the highly touted Baltimore Ravens defense. The following week, he was paired against Jared Allen of the Minnesota Vikings, one of the League's top defensive lineman and pass rushers.[9] Williams' prevented Allen from sacking Cutler, as the Bears beat the Vikings, 36–30.[10]

Williams started the 2010 season as the Bears starting left tackle. However, he was injured early during the team's second game against the Dallas Cowboys. Williams spent the next several weeks nursing a hamstring injury and missed three games. Upon recovering from his injury, Mike Tice, the team's offensive line coach, decided to move Williams to the left guard position.[11]

Williams was released by the Bears on October 16, 2012.[12]

St. Louis Rams

Williams signed with the St. Louis Rams on October 22, 2012.[13] He re-signed with the team on April 1, 2013, for $2.75 million on a one-year contract.[14]

Buffalo Bills

On March 12, 2014, Williams signed a four-year, $13.5 million contract with the Buffalo Bills. The deal includes $5.5 million in guaranteed money.[15]

His contract was terminated after a failed physical on July 28, 2015.

Personal life

Williams was invited to participate in a shoot-the-puck contest during the Chicago Blackhawks and Calgary Flames playoff on April 18, 2009.[16] During the contest, he successfully shot two pucks into two small openings in a goal from center ice.[16] Williams claims that he had never shot a puck prior to the contest.[16] Williams is married and has two children, a daughter and a son.

References

  1. ^ "2008 NFL Draft Scout Chris Williams College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  2. ^ "2008 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  3. ^ Mayer, Larry (July 23, 2008). "First-round draft pick agrees to five-year contract". ChicagoBears.com. Archived from the original on July 24, 2008. Retrieved July 23, 2008.
  4. ^ Trowbridge, Matt (July 24, 2008). "Bears' top pick leaves practice with stiff back". Rockford Register Star. Archived from the original on September 14, 2012. Retrieved August 3, 2008.
  5. ^ Biggs, Brad (August 7, 2008). "First-round pick Williams has back surgery". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on August 8, 2008. Retrieved August 8, 2008.
  6. ^ Mayer, Larry (September 25, 2008). "Williams takes first major step back on road to recovery". chicagobears.com. Archived from the original on September 25, 2008. Retrieved September 25, 2008.
  7. ^ "Bears rally behind Grossman to keep Lions winless". Associated Press. November 2, 2008. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008. Retrieved November 2, 2008.
  8. ^ Mayer, Larry (April 9, 2009). "Williams doesn't mind making move from left to right tackle". ChicagoBears.com. Archived from the original on April 11, 2009. Retrieved April 11, 2009.
  9. ^ Biggs, Brad (December 24, 2009). "Big test for Chris Williams against Minnesota Vikings". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 29, 2009.
  10. ^ Seligman, Andrew (December 29, 2009). "Cutler leads Bears over Vikings, 36–30 in OT". Yahoo! Sports. Associated Press. Retrieved December 29, 2009.
  11. ^ Seligman, Andrew. "Back from hamstring injury, Bears' Williams could be at left guard instead of tackle". LA Times. Retrieved October 20, 2010.[dead link]
  12. ^ Mayer, Larry. "Bears release 2008 first-round pick Chris Williams". chicagobears.com. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved October 16, 2012.
  13. ^ "Chris Williams signed by St. Louis Rams to help O-line". National Football League. October 22, 2012. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
  14. ^ Biggs, Brad (April 1, 2013). "Chris Williams gets another shot in St. Louis". Yahoo! Sports. Archived from the original on April 4, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
  15. ^ Chris Williams, Buffalo Bills strike four-year contract
  16. ^ a b c Mayer, Larry (April 17, 2009). "Hockey novice Williams scores two goals on two shots". ChicagoBears.com. Archived from the original on April 21, 2009. Retrieved April 19, 2009.

External links

2008 NFL Draft first-round selections
Chicago Bears 2008 NFL Draft selections
Chicago Bears first-round draft picks
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