Former Bucs WR Mike Williams dies from injuries sustained in tragic accident

Multiple media outlets reported last week that Williams had died. His agent clarified at the time that Williams was hospitalized following a serious accident but was still alive. A GoFundMe page that was linked to Williams’ father stated that Williams suffered a severe head injury when he was hit with a steel beam on a construction site last week. The page said Williams was placed into an induced coma on Sept. 3.

Tierney Lyle, the mother of Williams’ 8-year-old daughter, told the Tampa Bay Times she visited Williams in the hospital. Lyle said Williams was unable to move but that he briefly woke up when she and her daughter spoke to him.

Williams is one of several NFL players with the same name, including a few contemporaries who also played wide receiver. But the former Bucs star receiver was from Buffalo, N.Y., attended Syracuse for college, and was drafted by the Bucs in the fourth round in 2010.

Williams was dominant as a rookie. He had 65 catches for 964 yards and 11 touchdowns during the 2010 season with the Bucs. The team went 10-6 that season under Raheem Morris, with Josh Freeman as their quarterback. Williams finished second in AP Offensive Rookie of the Year voting that season behind Sam Bradford.

In 2011, Williams had 65 catches for 771 yards and three touchdowns. Then in 2012, Williams had 63 catches for 996 yards and nine touchdowns.

Williams was traded to the Bills for the 2014 season. He only played in nine games for them and had just 8 catches for 142 yards.

During his NFL career, Williams had 223 catches for 3,089 yards and 26 touchdowns. He was estimated to have earned just under $12M during his playing career.