Tyrell Williams (born February 12, 1992) 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 ...

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 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 Western Oregon and was signed by the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

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 2015. He also played for the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

and

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

Early life

Williams attended and played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

at Cascade High School. In addition, he played

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

and track. He earned all-state honors in the three sports during his senior season.

College career

Williams attended and played

at Western Oregon. In his 5-year career at Western Oregon from 2010 to 2014, he recorded 184 receptions for 3,169 yards and 24

touchdowns 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 senior, he caught 56 passes for 950 yards and eight touchdowns.

Professional career

San Diego / Los Angeles Chargers

2015

On May 2, 2015, Williams was signed as an undrafted free agent by the

following the

2015 NFL draft The 2015 NFL draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football, football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park ...

. On September 19, 2015, he was waived. On September 22, 2015, he was signed to the Chargers'

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 ...

. On November 21, 2015, he was promoted to the active roster. On January 3, 2016, Williams made his first catch of the season and caught an 80-yard touchdown reception in the regular season finale. He finished the game with two catches for a total of 90 yards and one touchdown in a 20–27 loss to the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

2016

In the 2016 season, Williams made two catches for 71 yards in the season opener against

AFC West The American Football Conference – Western Division or AFC West is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division comprises the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, ...

rival

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 ...

. He became the third wide receiver behind

Dontrelle Inman Dontrelle Javaar Inman (born January 31, 1989) is an American former Gridiron football, football wide receiver. He played college football for the Virginia Cavaliers football, Virginia Cavaliers and was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars of the N ...

and Travis Benjamin after starting wide receivers Keenan Allen and Stevie Johnson were placed on injured-reserve for the season. The following week, he caught his first touchdown of the season on a 44-yard reception against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

in Week 2. On October 9, 2016, he had his first career game with over 100 receiving yards against the

. He finished the game with five receptions for 117 yards and a touchdown in the Chargers' 31–34 loss. In Week 7, against the

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 ...

, he had seven receptions for 140 receiving yards in the 33–30 victory. In Week 10 against 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 ...

, he had five receptions for 125 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown in the 31–24 loss. Williams finished his second season with 69 catches for 1,059 yards and seven touchdowns.

2017

In 2017, Williams played in all 16 games with 15 starts, recording 43 receptions for 728 yards and four touchdowns.

2018

On March 12, 2018, the Chargers placed a second-round restricted free agent tender on Williams. On April 23, 2018, he signed his tender. In Week 6, he recorded three receptions for 118 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns in a victory over the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

. In the 2018 season, he finished with 41 receptions for 653 yards and five touchdowns. In the Wild Card Round victory over 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 ...

, he had two receptions for nine yards. In the Divisional Round loss to 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 ...

, he had five receptions for 94 yards.

Oakland / Las Vegas Raiders

2019

On March 13, 2019, Williams signed a four-year, $44 million contract with the Raiders. Williams made his debut with the Raiders in Week 1 against the Broncos on ''Monday Night Football''. In the game, Williams caught six passes for 105 yards and a touchdown in the 24–16 win. In Week 2 against the Chiefs, Williams caught five passes for 46 yards and one touchdown as the Raiders lost 28–10. In Week 3 against 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 ...

, Williams caught three passes for 29 yards and his third receiving touchdown of the season as the Raiders lost 34–14. In Week 4 against the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

, Williams caught three passes for 36 yards and one touchdown in the 31–24 win. This was Williams' fourth consecutive game with a receiving touchdown. Williams was forced to miss the Raiders' next two games due to a foot injury. He made his return in Week 8 against the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

. In the game, Williams caught three passes for 91 yards and a touchdown in the 27–24 loss. Overall, Williams finished the 2019 season with 42 receptions for 651 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns.

2020 season

On September 1, 2020, Williams was placed on season-ending

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 ...

after suffering a torn labrum in his shoulder. On February 24, 2021, Williams was released by the Raiders.

Detroit Lions

2021

On March 9, 2021, Williams signed a one-year deal with the

. He was placed on injured reserve on September 23, 2021, after suffering a concussion in Week 1. He was released on November 5.

NFL career statistics

References

External links

Western Oregon Wolves bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Tyrell 1992 births Living people American football wide receivers Detroit Lions players Los Angeles Chargers players Las Vegas Raiders players Oakland Raiders players San Diego Chargers players Players of American football from Salem, Oregon Western Oregon Wolves football players