Xavier Williams
Xavier Ramon Williams (born January 18, 1992) is an American football defensive tackle who is currently a free agent. He played college football at the University of Northern Iowa. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Arizona Cardinals.
Williams in the 2017 NFL preseason. | |||||||||||
Free agent | |||||||||||
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Position: | Defensive tackle | ||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||
Born: | Kansas City, Missouri | January 18, 1992||||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||
Weight: | 309 lb (140 kg) | ||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||
High school: | Grandview (Grandview, Missouri) | ||||||||||
College: | Northern Iowa | ||||||||||
Undrafted: | 2015 | ||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
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Career NFL statistics as of 2019 | |||||||||||
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Early years
Williams was born in Kansas City, Missouri on January 2, 1992. He attended Grandview High School, where he was named a first-team all conference selection. He was named to the Suburban Mid-Six team in 2009 and earned first team all metro honors. Aside from football, Williams was a three-year starter and two-time qualifier in wrestling.[1]
College career
Williams attended the University of Northern Iowa between 2010-2014. He was earned All-Missouri Valley Football Conference First Team Honors in both 2013 and 2014. Williams had the opportunity to play in the East-West Shrine Game following his senior season, where he performed well at the defensive tackle position[2]
Professional career
Arizona Cardinals
On May 5, 2015, Williams signed with the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent.[3] In his rookie year in 2015, he played 4 games making 2 tackles.
On March 13, 2018, the Cardinals placed an original round restricted free agent tender on Williams, which allows a player to negotiate a contract with another team, but their original team can match the offer, if they refuse, they receive a draft pick from the round the player was drafted in. For undrafted players, like Williams, the team receives no compensation.[4]
Kansas City Chiefs
On March 20, 2018, Williams received a contract offer from the Kansas City Chiefs giving the Cardinals a chance to match. The Cardinals declined to match the Chiefs offer, so he signed his offer sheet with the Chiefs.[5]
On October 9, 2019, Williams was placed on injured reserve with a high ankle sprain.[6] He was designated for return from injured reserve on December 4, 2019, and began practicing with the team again.[7] He was activated on December 25, 2019.[8] Williams won Super Bowl LIV with Chiefs after defeating the San Francisco 49ers 31-20.
References
- "Xavier Williams Biography". azcardinals.com. Arizona Cardinals. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- Muench, Steve. "Xavier Williams among East-West Shrine Game standouts". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
- Logue, Andrew (May 5, 2015). "UNI's Xavier Williams joins NFL's Cardinals". demoinesregister.com. The Des Moines Register. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- "Cardinals tender restricted free agent Xavier Williams". ArizonaSports.com. March 13, 2018.
- Paylor, Terez A. (March 20, 2018). "Chiefs sign restricted free agent nose tackle Xavier Williams". Kansas City.com.
- "Chiefs place DT Xavier Williams on IR; Officially announce new signings". Chiefs Wire. USA Today. October 9, 2019.
- Williams, Charean (December 4, 2019). "Chiefs designate Xavier Williams to return from IR". NBCSports.com. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
- Teicher, Adam (December 25, 2019). "Chiefs put RB Spencer Ware on IR, activate DT Xavier Williams". ESPN.