 Williams with the Arizona Cardinals in 2017 | |||||||||||
| No. 94, 98, 71, 69 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Nose tackle | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born | (1992-01-18)January 18, 1992 (age 33) Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight | 309 lb (140 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school | Grandview(Grandview, Missouri) | ||||||||||
| College | Northern Iowa | ||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2015: undrafted | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
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Xavier Williams (born January 18, 1992) is an American former professionalfootball player who was anose tackle in theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theNorthern Iowa Panthers. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by theArizona Cardinals.
Williams 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 fromfootball, Williams was a three-year starter and two-time qualifier inwrestling.[1]
Williams attended theUniversity of Northern Iowa between 2010 and 2014. He was earned All-Missouri Valley Football Conference First-team Honors in both 2013 and 2014. Williams had the opportunity to play in theEast-West Shrine Game following his senior season, where he performed well at the defensive tackle position[2]
On May 5, 2015, Williams signed with theArizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent.[3] In his rookie year in 2015, he played 4 games making 2tackles.
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 selected in. For undrafted players, like Williams, the team receives no compensation.[4]
On March 20, 2018, Williams received a contract offer from theKansas 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 oninjured 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 wonSuper Bowl LIV with the Chiefs after defeating theSan Francisco 49ers 31–20.
After becoming a free agent in March 2020, Williams visited theTampa Bay Buccaneers on August 8, 2020,[9] and had a tryout with theNew England Patriots on August 20, 2020.[10]
On August 22, 2020, Williams signed with the Patriots.[11] On September 5, 2020, he was waived by the team and added to thepractice squad the following day.[12] He was elevated to the active roster on September 12 for the team's week 1 game against theMiami Dolphins,[13] and reverted to the practice squad after the game on September 14.[14] He was released on October 2, 2020.[15]
On October 12, 2020, Williams was signed by theCincinnati Bengals.[16]Williams made his debut with the Bengals in Week 6 against theIndianapolis Colts. During the game, Williams recovered a fumble lost by tight endJack Doyle and later recorded his first sack of the season onPhilip Rivers during the 31–27 loss.[17]
On June 7, 2021, Williams signed with the Cardinals.[18] He was placed on injured reserve on August 8, 2021. He was released on August 16.
On December 21, 2021, Williams was signed to theHouston Texans active roster.[19] He was released on December 31.