Aaron Williams (born April 23, 1990) is an American former 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

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

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

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and ...

and was selected by 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 ...

in the second round of the

2011 NFL draft The 2011 NFL draft was the 76th installment of the annual National Football League draft, NFL draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Rad ...

Early life

Williams attended

McNeil High School McNeil High School (commonly known as MHS or McNeil) is a public secondary school in an unincorporated area in both Travis and Williamson counties, near Austin, Texas, United States. Serving freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. The scho ...

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

. He was considered the top

recruit by '' Rivals.com'' and the second best

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

recruit by '' Scout.com'' in 2008. He was selected 1st team All-State by Dave Campbell Texas Football magazine and was also named to the 2008 Parade All-American team. Williams was named an outstanding performer at the 2007 Army National Combine which led to him being selected to the 2008

U.S. Army All-American Bowl The All-American Bowl (currently branded as the Navy All-American Bowl for sponsorship reasons) is a high school football all-star game, held annually at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Typically played in January, the All-American Bowl is p ...

game. He was also a two-year letterman in

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

and

track & field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...

. He chose Texas over offers from Baylor and

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

College career

As a freshman in 2008, Williams started one of 13 games at cornerback, recording 13 tackles and an

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, 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 ...

which was returned 81 yards for a

touchdown 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 ...

. As a sophomore in 2009, he played in 13 games, missing one due to an injury, and recorded 31 tackles, two sacks and three interceptions. As a junior in 2010, he started 11 games, missing two due to an injury, and recorded 45 tackles, one quarterback sack, and two forced fumbles.

Professional career

Williams was selected by the

as the second pick of the second round (no. 34 overall) in the

. Following an up and down first two seasons at

, Williams was moved to

for the 2013 season. On March 5, 2014, Williams signed a four-year, $26 million extension with the Bills. In 2015, Williams was injured in a Week 2 game against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

while attempting a flying goal line tackle on

Julian Edelman Julian Francis Edelman (born May 22, 1986) is an American former professional American football, football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for twelve seasons with the New England Patriots. He played college footba ...

. He was completely motionless on the turf, and was taken off the field in an ambulance. Early reports stated he suffered a neck injury. In 2016, during a Week 3 game against the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

, Williams scored his first NFL touchdown, returning a botched field goal attempt for the score. In Week 7, Williams suffered another serious neck injury after a hit by

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

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 ...

Jarvis Landry Jarvis Charles Landry (born November 28, 1992) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons. He played college football for the LSU Tigers and was selected by the Mia ...

. He was placed on injured reserve on November 1, 2016, effectively ending his season. On March 9, 2017, Williams was released by the Bills. On January 31, 2018, Williams announced his retirement from the NFL after six seasons in Buffalo. His retirement came after multiple head and neck injuries throughout his career, citing it was the main concern of other teams not signing him after workouts in 2017, including the Jaguars, Texans, and Chiefs.

NFL career statistics

References

External links

Buffalo Bills bioTexas Longhorns bioNFL combine bioESPN bioAaron Williams' Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Aaron 1990 births Living people Players of American football from San Jose, California American football cornerbacks American football safeties Texas Longhorns football players Buffalo Bills players 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen