Chandler Williams III (August 9, 1985 – January 5, 2013) was an American 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 ...

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 ...

. He was selected by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

in the seventh round of the

2007 NFL draft The 2007 NFL draft was the 72nd annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 28 and April 29, 2007. The draf ...

. 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 ...

at Florida International. Williams was also a member of the

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 ...

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

, and

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

of 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), the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL), and the

Tampa Bay Storm The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The ...

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL).

College career

Williams played four years at FIU and left as one of the most prolific receivers in school history. Williams was Florida International's career leader in receptions with 203 receptions until

T. Y. Hilton Eugene Marquis "T. Y." Hilton (born November 14, 1989) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the FIU Panthers and was selected by the Indi ...

caught 229 receptions in his four-year career. Williams places 3rd on FIU's career leaderboard with 2,519 career yards and 6th with 8 career touchdowns. Williams also returned punts in college. In his senior season, he ranked ninth nationally in receptions per game and first in the

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that has been affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football confe ...

. Williams also led the conference in yards per game averaging 66.4 yards per game.

Professional career

Minnesota Vikings

Williams was selected in the seventh round (233rd overall selection) of the

by the Vikings. Williams was the second player in Florida International's history to be selected in the

NFL Draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

. (

Antwan Barnes Antwan Edward Barnes (born October 19, 1984) is an American former professional football linebacker. He was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL draft. He played college football at Florida International. Barnes ...

was picked in the fourth round by the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

). Williams was the second of the Vikings' eight draft picks to sign a contract on May 30, 2007. He was cut by the Vikings after training camp in 2007.

Miami Dolphins

Williams was later signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

of the

, where he spent the entire season. He was re-signed in the 2008 offseason, but was waived on April 25.

Atlanta Falcons

Williams was signed by the Falcons on April 29, 2008. He was released by the Falcons during final cuts on August 30. On November 11, the Falcons re-signed him to their

. After spending the entire 2008 season on the practice squad, Williams was re-signed to a future contract on January 5, 2009. He was waived on September 4.

Kansas City Chiefs

Williams was signed to the

on December 23, 2009. After his contract expired following the season, he was re-signed to a future contract on January 4, 2010. He was cut by the Chiefs on May 6, 2010. He was later re-signed and waived again on August 29, 2011.

Toronto Argonauts

On June 6, 2012, Williams signed with the

of the

. He was released by the Argonauts on October 4, 2012. During his stint with the Argonauts, Williams recorded 4 receptions for 88 yards, his longest reception for 55 yards.

Personal life

Williams was married to Vanitia Harrigan. They had a daughter together, Tori Summer-Rose Williams.

Death

Williams died on January 5, 2013, of a suspected heart related condition while participating in a flag football tournament in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. He was 27.

References

External links

FIU Panthers bioKansas City Chiefs bioTampa Bay Storm bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Chandler 1985 births 2013 deaths Miami Senior High School alumni Players of American football from Miami American football wide receivers FIU Panthers football players Minnesota Vikings players Miami Dolphins players Atlanta Falcons players Kansas City Chiefs players Tampa Bay Storm players Toronto Argonauts players Players of Canadian football from Miami Sports deaths in Florida Canadian football wide receivers