Stephen Cabot Williams (born September 21, 1981) is a former professional

gridiron football Gridiron football ( ),"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica'' ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

. He was signed by the

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 ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2006. 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 Northwest Missouri State. Williams has also been a member of the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

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 ...

, and

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

Early years

Williams attended Bolingbrook High School in

Bolingbrook, Illinois Bolingbrook is a village in Will County, Illinois, Will and DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is a southwest suburb of Chicago on Interstate 55 in Illinois, I-55 and U.S. Route 66 in Illinois, Historic Rou ...

, where he earned all-state honors in football and was a state champion in

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

College career

After graduating from Bolingbrook High School, Williams attended

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

, where he played in 10 games as a freshman in 2000, recording 10 tackles. In his 2001 sophomore season, Williams had one sack and 17 tackles in 11 games played. He transferred to

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois, United States. It was founded as "Northern Illinois State Normal School" in 1895 by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld, initially to provide the state with c ...

in 2002 but did not play. He returned to play football in 2004 with

Northwest Missouri State University Northwest Missouri State University (NW Missouri) is a public university in Maryville, Missouri, United States. It has an enrollment of 9,152 students. Founded in 1905 as a teachers college, its campus is based on the design for Forest Park (St. ...

, where he was a first-team All- MIAA selection with 52 tackles. In 2005, he appeared in five games and recorded 31 tackles.

Professional career

Kansas City Chiefs

After going undrafted in the

2006 NFL draft The 2006 NFL draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offe ...

, Williams signed with the

on May 17, 2006. He was released by the Chiefs following final cuts on September 2 and re-signed to their

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 ...

two days later. He was promoted to the Chiefs' 53-man roster on September 28 and released from it on November 16. He returned to the practice squad on November 20 and to the 53-man roster on November 28, where he spent the remainder of the season. He finished the 2006 season with four tackles in 11 games played. He was released by the Chiefs on February 21, 2007.

Carolina Panthers

Williams was signed by the

on March 16, 2007. He was placed on the team's

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

list on September 1, and released from it five days later with an injury settlement. He was re-signed by the Panthers following the season on April 7, 2008. He was again released by the team on August 30, 2008.

New England Patriots

After spending the 2008 season out of football, Williams was signed by the

on May 4, 2009. He was waived on September 4, 2009.

BC Lions

Williams signed with the

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 ...

on September 22, 2009. After spending parts of two seasons with the club, he was released on January 28, 2011.

Return to New England

The Patriots re-signed Williams on July 29, 2011. He was waived on August 13.

References

External links

New England Patriots bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Steve 1981 births Living people Players of American football from Oak Park, Illinois Players of American football from Illinois American football defensive tackles American football defensive ends Indiana Hoosiers football players Northern Illinois Huskies football players Northwest Missouri State Bearcats football players Kansas City Chiefs players Carolina Panthers players New England Patriots players BC Lions players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen