 Williams with the San Francisco 49ers in 2017 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 36, 24, 21 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Cornerback | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born: | (1991-07-12)July 12, 1991 (age 33) Paterson, New Jersey, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 185 lb (84 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school: | Saint Joseph Regional (Montvale, New Jersey) | ||||||||||||||
| College: | Pittsburgh (2010–2013) | ||||||||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2014 | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2023 | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
K'Waun Lamar Williams (/ˈkeɪwɔːn/KAY-wawn; born July 12, 1991) is an American former professionalfootballcornerback. He played in theNational Football League (NFL) from 2014 to 2023 for theCleveland Browns,San Francisco 49ers, andDenver Broncos. He playedcollege football atPittsburgh.
Williams playedhigh school football for theSaint Joseph Regional High School Green Knights ofMontvale, New Jersey. He playedrunning back,wide receiver andcornerback. He was an All-New Jersey selection. Williams recorded 32tackles, twointerceptions, twofumble recoveries, four rushingtouchdowns, and four receiving touchdowns his senior year.[1] He is of Jamaican descent.[2]
Williams played from 2010 to 2013 with thePittsburgh Panthers.[1]
Williams was ranked as the 92nd best cornerback prospect in the2014 NFL draft by DraftScout.com.[3] He went undrafted, but received offers for a tryout from theCleveland Browns andPittsburgh Steelers. Williams declined the offer to attend the Steelers' rookie camp in order to reunite with Browns' defensive backs coachJeff Hafley, who was also his position coach at Pitt and recruited him out of high school.[4]
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft9+3⁄8 in (1.76 m) | 183 lb (83 kg) | 31+5⁄8 in (0.80 m) | 9+3⁄4 in (0.25 m) | 4.53 s | 1.53 s | 2.55 s | 4.23 s | 6.85 s | 36 in (0.91 m) | 10 ft 6 in (3.20 m) | 8 reps | |
| All values fromPittsburgh'sPro Day[3] | ||||||||||||
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On May 20, 2014, the Browns signed Williams to a two-year, $930,000 contract.[5][6]
Throughouttraining camp, Williams competed for a roster spot as a backup cornerback andspecial teams contributor againstIsaiah Trufant,Aaron Berry,Pierre Desir,Leon McFadden,T. J. Heath,Robert Nelson, andRoyce Adams.[7] He also competed to be the backupnickelback against Isaiah Trufant.[4] Head coachMike Pettine named Williams the seventh cornerback on the Browns'depth chart to start the regular season, behindJoe Haden,Buster Skrine,Justin Gilbert, Pierre Desir, Robert Nelson, and Aaron Berry. Williams was also named the backup nickelback being Buster Skrine.[8]
He made his professional regular season debut in the Browns' season-opener at the Steelers and made three combined tackles in their 30–27 loss.[9] Williams was inserted at nickelback after rookie Justin Gilbert had issues in pass coverage and was replaced on the outside by nickelback Buster Skrine.[10] He made his first career tackle on running backLe'Veon Bell after a nine-yard reception in the third quarter.[11] On October 5, 2014, Williams collected a season-high six solo tackles, deflected a pass, and made his first careersack during a 29–28 victory at theTennessee Titans in Week 5. Williams sacked backup quarterbackCharlie Whitehurst for a six-yard loss in the third quarter.[12] The following week, Williams earned his first career start, as a nickelback, and made a solo tackle and twopass deflections before exiting in the second quarter of the Browns' 31–10 win against the Steelers in Week 6 due to aconcussion. He was inactive for the Browns' Week 7 loss at theJacksonville Jaguars due to concussion symptoms.[4] In Week 11, he collected a season-high eight combined tackles and a pass deflection during a 23–7 loss to theHouston Texans. Williams was inactive for two games (Weeks 15–16) due to ahamstring injury.[13] He completed his rookie season in 2014 with 38 combined tackles (29 solo), eight pass deflections, and a sack in 13 games and four starts.[14][15]
Williams entered training camp slated as the first-team nickelback after Buster Skrine departed for theNew York Jets in free agency. Pettine named Williams the third cornerback on the depth chart to start the season, behind Joe Haden andTramon Williams. He was also officially named the first-team nickelback.[16]
In Week 2, he made three solo tackles and sacked quarterbackMarcus Mariota during a 28–14 victory against the Titans. He was sidelined for two games (Weeks 4–5) after sustaining a concussion.[13] In Week 10, he collected a season-high five solo tackles in the Browns' 30–9 loss at the Steelers. Williams was inactive for the Browns' Week 15 loss at theSeattle Seahawks due to a shoulder injury.[13] Williams finished the 2015 season with 39 combined tackles (31 solo), two pass breakups, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and a sack in 13 games and six starts.[14]
On August 12, 2016, Williams opted to not participate in the Browns' pre-season opener due to an ankle injury.[17] On August 18, 2016, the Browns suspended Williams for two weeks and fined him for conduct detrimental to the team. The Browns argued the severity of Williams injury as he continued to sit out practice and received a second opinion.[18] Williams received a second opinion from an independent specialist at theCleveland Clinic and was told he would have to undergo surgery to remove bone spurs. Williams stated he planned to appeal the suspension and was also reportedly contemplating retirement.[19] On August 29, 2016, the Browns waived Williams.[20]
On August 30, 2016, the Chicago Bears claimed Williams off of waivers.[21] However, the contract was voided after Williams failed a physical due to his ankle injury.[22] On November 3, 2016, Williams underwent surgery to remove the bone spurs and was expected to recover within 12 weeks.[23]
After being medically cleared following surgery, Williams received contract offers from multiple teams, including the Jets,Minnesota Vikings,Detroit Lions, and 49ers.[24]
On February 21, 2017, theSan Francisco 49ers signed Williams to a one-year, $615,000 contract with asigning bonus of $75,000.[25] He reunited with 49ers' defensive backs coach Jeff Hafley, who was his position coach with the Cleveland Browns and at Pitt.
Throughout training camp, Williams competed againstWill Redmond andKeith Reaser for the role as the first-team nickelback.[26] Head coachKyle Shanahan named Williams the first-team nickelback to start the regular season.
On September 29, 2017, the San Francisco 49ers signed Williams to a three-year, $8.85 million contract extension with $4.25 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $3 million.[27] On October 1, 2017, Williams collected a season-high eight combined tackles during an 18–15 loss at theArizona Cardinals in Week 4. Williams was inactive for two games (Weeks 8–9) after injuring his quadriceps.[28] On December 24, 2017, Williams recorded five combined tackles, deflected two passes, and made his first career interception during a 44–33 victory against the Jaguars in Week 16. He intercepted a pass by quarterbackBlake Bortles and returned it for a 27-yard gain.[29] He finished the 2017 season with a career-high 54 combined tackles (42 solo), five pass deflections, two forced fumbles, an interception, and a sack in 14 games and five starts.[14]Pro Football Focus gave Williams an overall grade of 80.2, which ranked 44th among all qualifying cornerbacks in 2017.[30]
On October 10, 2020, Williams was placed oninjured reserve with a knee injury.[31] He was activated on October 31.[32] He was suspended two games by the NFL for violating the league'sperformance-enhancing drugs policy on November 24, 2020,[33] but the suspension was rescinded the next day after testing issues were discovered.[34]
On March 26, 2021, Williams re-signed with 49ers.[35]
On March 23, 2022, Williams signed a two-year contract with theDenver Broncos.[36] On November 14, it was announced that Williams would undergoarthroscopic surgery to clean out "loose bodies" scar tissue that had developed from a previous surgery; the fragments had been causing his knee to lock up, and the recovery timetable was set at four weeks.[37]
On August 31, 2023, Williams was placed on injured reserve, and would go on to miss the entire2023 season.[38] During the following offseason, the Broncos opted not to re-sign him.[39]
On January 14, 2025, Williams' agent announced his intention to retire from the NFL.[40]
| Year | Team | GP | COMB | TOTAL | AST | SACK | FF | FR | FR YDS | INT | IR YDS | AVG IR | LNG | TD | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | CLE | 13 | 38 | 29 | 9 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 2015 | CLE | 13 | 39 | 31 | 8 | 1.0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2017 | SF | 14 | 54 | 42 | 12 | 1.0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 0 | 5 |
| 2018 | SF | 14 | 45 | 40 | 5 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2019 | SF | 15 | 51 | 35 | 16 | 1.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 53 | 26.5 | 49 | 0 | 2 |
| 2020 | SF | 8 | 22 | 17 | 5 | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2021 | SF | 14 | 52 | 40 | 12 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 2022 | DEN | 14 | 44 | 30 | 14 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Career | 105 | 345 | 264 | 81 | 8.0 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 84 | 16.8 | 49 | 0 | 34 | |
Source:[41]
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