Aaron Williams - Pro Football Rumors

Latest On Bills Safety Aaron Williams

October 27th, 2016 at 6:55pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Bills safety Aaron Williams will wait until the offseason before making a decision on the future of his NFL career, Williams’ father tells John Wawrow of the Associated Press. Williams suffered a neck injury after taking a vicious hit from Dolphins wide receiver Jarvis Landry in Sunday’s game (which can be viewed here). Landry was fined nearly $25K for the hit.

Retirement hasn’t yet been brought up in discussions with Williams, according to his father, but the defensive back plans to revisit the subject with his entire family later this year. The injury is doubly worrisome given that Williams suffered a severe neck ailment in 2015 that cost him 11 games and forced him to consider retirement. This time around, Bills head coach Rex Ryan admitted that Williams is facing “long-term concerns,” but deemed him week-to-week, according to Chris Brown of BuffaloBills.com.

Williams, 26, is in the midst of his sixth NFL season, all of which have been spent with the Bills. He’s been a starter for the majority of his career in Buffalo, posting seven interceptions and 183 tackles through 59 games. Having agreed to an extension in 2014, Williams is signed through the 2018 campaign, with cap hits north of $6MM in each of the next two seasons.

Williams, unsurprisingly, is unlikely to play on Sunday when the Bills face the Patriots. Buffalo has other options at safety that can fill in while Williams is sidelined, including Robert Blanton, Duke Williams, and Jonathan Meeks.

East Rumors: A. Williams, Eagles, Cox, Jordan

January 29th, 2016 at 1:11pm CST by Luke Adams

Bills safety Aaron Williams is coming off a neck injury that sidelined him for most of the 2015 season, and he won’t know for sure if he’ll be able to continue playing in the NFL going forward until he gets back on the field in training camp, as he explains to John Murphy at BuffaloBills.com.

“After that first hit, if you feel like you can sustain those hits week in and week out, then continue to keep playing,” Williams said, per Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. “But if it’s one of those where I hit it and it’s just like, ‘Man, this doesn’t look good,’ then I’ll have to reconsider.”

Here’s more from around the NFL’s East divisions:

Former Browns executive Morocco Brown, mentioned on Thursday as a candidate for the Eagles‘ top personnel job, has indeed interviewed with Philadelphia, tweets Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. Brown was let by Cleveland along with Ray Farmer and Bill Kuharich at season’s end.
It appears there’s mutual interest between Fletcher Cox and the Eagles in getting an extension done, with Cox telling Around the NFL on Thursday that he wants to be in Philadelphia “for the long haul,” adding that he believes “everyone wants me there from the owner all the way down” (link via Conor Orr of NFL.com). At the rate the Eagles are getting their players locked up, it would almost be a surprise if Cox doesn’t sign a new contract soon — Zach Ertz, Brent Celek, and Lane Johnson have all been extended by Philadelphia this week.
The Dolphins aren’t counting on him to be a 2016 contributor, but the team is open to giving defensive end Dion Jordan another shot if and when he’s reinstated from his suspension, as long as “he’s clean and has a good attitude,” writes Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
The Bills are focusing on Ralph Wilson Stadium for the time being, rather than working on a new stadium, team president Russ Brandon said on Thursday. Mike Rodak of ESPN.com has the details and the quotes.

East Notes: Chip, Dolphins, Bills, M. Williams

December 31st, 2015 at 7:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Hours after being fired as head coach of the Eagles, Chip Kelly released a statement reflecting on his tenure (Twitter link via Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports). The statement, which can be read in full at the link, saw Kelly thank both owner Jeffrey Lurie and Philadelphia fans, while expressing regret that he wasn’t able to lead the club to a Super Bowl title.

Here’s a look at more from the NFL’s two East divisions:

Alex Marvez of FOX Sports lists three potential candidates for the Dolphins‘ head coaching job, identifying former Lions coach Jim Schwartz, Panthers offensive coordinator Mike Shula, and UCLA coach Jim Mora Jr. as viable options for Miami.
Bills safety Aaron Williams‘ season is over, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link), who reports that Williams’ practice period has expired. Williams, who was on injured reserve/designated to return, was said to be mulling retirement earlier this month as he deals with a neck injury.
Former Syracuse offensive tackle Sean Hickey, who has spent time with the Saints and Patriots this year, visited the Bills, according to Wilson (Twitter link).
Wilson also passes along a workout note on the Giants, tweeting that New York auditioned defensive back C.J. Conway this week. Conway is a familiar face for the Giants, having started the year on the team’s practice squad before being cut in Week 2.
We learned earlier today that the Bills plan to cut defensive end Mario Williams during the offseason, and that decision won’t disappoint at least of Williams’ teammates, per Tyler Dunne of the Buffalo News (Twitter links), who quotes a fellow Bill as saying Williams displays “zero effort,” “doesn’t care about anybody but himself,” and has “totally checked out.”

Dallas Robinson contributed to this post.

Bills Notes: Woods, McCoy, Williams, Taylor

December 21st, 2015 at 1:09pm CST by Luke Adams

It appears likely that Robert Woods‘ season will come to an early end. The Bills wide receiver suffered a groin injury, and head coach Rex Ryan told reporters today that it’s “safe to say” it’s a pretty severe one (Twitter link via Joe Buscaglia of WKBW). While the team hasn’t made anything official yet, Rand Getlin of the NFL Network (Twitter link) hears that Woods will be placed on injured reserve.

With Woods out, there’s “probably a good chance” of Dezmin Lewis being promoted from the Bills’ practice squad to their active roster, according to Ryan (Twitter link via Buscaglia). As we wait for a formal announcement from the club on that roster move, let’s round up a few more items out of Buffalo….

While Woods’ season is probably done, it sounds like LeSean McCoy may get back on the field sometime in the last two weeks. Per Getlin (Twitter link), there are no plans at this time to shut down the running back. Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network adds (via Twitter) that McCoy’s MCL sprain may sideline him for Week 16, but he’s expected to be fine for Week 17.
Bills safety Aaron Williams, who is currently on IR with the designation to return due to a neck injury, won’t return to action this season, Ryan said today (link via ESPN’s Mike Rodak). Williams will continue to practice while he remains on IR.
Addressing a pair of reports that surfaced over the weekend, Ryan denied any sort of rift between him and general manager Doug Whaley, adding that he has a “great deal of respect” for the Bills’ GM. Ryan also dismissed the idea that anyone within the organization doubted whether Mario Williams was sick last week, suggesting that story was “made up” (all Twitter links via Buscaglia).
Ryan was also asked about Williams’ comments from Sunday, in which the defensive end didn’t express any openness to the idea of accepting a pay cut to remain in Buffalo. While the Buffalo head coach said he’d love to have Williams – and everyone else on the team – back next season, he acknowledged that change is a part of the NFL offseason (Twitter link via Buscaglia).
Ryan gave Tyrod Taylor another vote of confidence, telling reporters that the team is “pretty sure” of who its quarterback will be heading into 2016 (Twitter link via Tyler Dunne of The Buffalo News).
Bills outside linebacker Randell Johnson sustained a high ankle sprain, and doesn’t have a great chance to play in Week 16, tweets Buscaglia. Johnson may be a candidate for IR.

Bills Safety Aaron Williams Mulling Retirement

December 10th, 2015 at 7:17pm CST by Zachary Links

Bills safety Aaron Williams, who has been sidelined since Week 2 with a neck injury, is mulling retirement, according to Mike Rodak of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Williams returned to Bills practice on Thursday with an eye on returning this season, but it’s not a certainty that he will. Whatever Williams does on the practice field and in live action this year will apparently be a litmus test for whether he will continue in 2016 and beyond.

While at practice on Thursday, Williams revealed that he underwent a “procedure” on his neck about a month ago and doctors cautioned him that his playing days may be over. The veteran indicated that his first hit upon returning will give him an idea of what his next step will be.

Williams is technically eligible to play on Sunday against the Eagles, but that remains highly unlikely. When asked to handicap the likelihood that Williams will return at all in 2015, coach Rex Ryan said the odds are probably 50/50, as Rodak writes. Williams, 25, suffered a very scary neck injury in Week 2 but made it back on to the field in Week 5. Unfortunately, he was not back at 100% and he was given the team’s IR-DTR designation days later.

Williams inked a four-year extension with the Bills back in March of 2014 worth a healthy $26MM. At the time, the former second-round pick was coming off of a season in which he grabbed four interceptions and registered 82 tackles, both of which were easily career highs.

Bills Notes: Ryan, Carpenter, A. Williams

December 7th, 2015 at 3:01pm CST by Luke Adams

While Rex Ryan has always been very unlikely to be a one-and-done coach in Buffalo, there was talk around the league last week that Bills ownership was “none too pleased” with the team’s recent play, says Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports. As such, the team’s Sunday win over Houston likely has Ryan breathing a little easier.

If the Bills miss the playoffs this year, I expect Ryan to get at least one more shot in 2016 at making the postseason. As Garafolo notes though, the team’s owners are in win-now mode, having OK’d big-money maneuvers such as the trade and extension for LeSean McCoy, as well as lucrative contracts for Charles Clay, Jerry Hughes, and Marcell Dareus, among others.

Here’s more out of Buffalo:

Kicker Dan Carpenter missed a field goal and an extra point during Sunday’s win over the Texans, and has now missed four of each for the season. However, his job isn’t in danger, according to Ryan, who declared that “we’re not getting rid of” Carpenter (link via Jay Skurski of The Buffalo News). “Moving that [extra point] back, there’s a lot of people who miss kicks,” Ryan said. “Look, we’ve got a veteran kicker. You guys know he can kick in the conditions, and not everybody can do that.”
Safety Aaron Williams, who is on injured reserve with the designation to return, has a 50/50 chance of returning to the field for the Bills this season, per Ryan (Twitter link via Skurski).
The injury sustained by cornerback Stephon Gilmore on Sunday isn’t expected to be a season-ender, according to Ryan (Twitter link via Skurski). There has yet to be an official diagnosis or recovery timeline announced for Gilmore.

Bills Place Aaron Williams On IR-DTR

October 14th, 2015 at 12:21pm CST by Luke Adams

After suffering a scary neck injury in Week 2, Aaron Williams returned to play most of the team’s defensive snaps in Week 5. While that appeared to be a good sign for the Buffalo safety, it doesn’t appear he has fully recovered from his injury.

The Bills announced today in a press release that Williams has been placed on injured reserve with the designation to return. The move rules Williams out of games until Week 14, though he’ll be eligible to begin practicing following the club’s Week 11 game. Buffalo has signed safety Josh Bush, a Rex Ryan favorite who previously played for the Jets, to fill Williams’ roster spot.

While Bush, who was recently cut by the Broncos, could get an opportunity to earn some playing time, Bacarri Rambo looks like the favorite to assume a starting job at safety in Williams’ absence.

By using their IR-DTR slot on Williams, the Bills becomes the 19th team to use the designation this season, as our tracker shows. All three of Buffalo’s AFC East rivals made use of the IR-DTR spot prior to the season, with the Dolphins using it on injured running back Jay Ajayi, the Patriots using it on center Bryan Stork, and the Jets using it on cornerback Dee Milliner.

Injury Updates: Cutler, Lacy, Boyd, Adams

September 21st, 2015 at 2:52pm CST by Luke Adams

While we don’t cover every NFL injury at Pro Football Rumors, we keep a close eye on them nonetheless, and we’ll often pass along injury news if it pertains to a key player, or if a team may have to make a roster move due to an injury. Here are some of the latest noteworthy updates on injuries sustained by players during this weekend’s games:

NFC:

Bears quarterback Jay Cutler has a strained hamstring, according to head coach John Fox, who added that the Bears haven’t decided whether or not to add another QB to the roster this week (Twitter links via Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune).
Packers running back Eddie Lacy sprained his ankle against the Seahawks last night, but the injury is minor and he could play in Week 3, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
While the initial diagnosis on Packers defensive tackle Josh Boyd suggested that his ankle injury may not be too significant, an MRI revealed torn ankle ligaments, and his season is now in jeopardy, tweets Rapoport.
Falcons running back Tevin Coleman fractured a rib yesterday, and will likely be sidelined for a couple weeks, depending on his pain threshold, sources tell Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Despite the injury, head coach Dan Quinn said he doesn’t anticipating adding another running back to the roster, according to ESPN’s Vaughn McClure (Twitter link).
Panthers wideout Jerricho Cotchery has a high ankle sprain, which is often a multi-week injury, but the team hopes he’ll be ready for Week 3, says Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).
Cardinals receiver J.J. Nelson is expected to miss two to four weeks with a shoulder injury, according to head coach Bruce Arians (Twitter link via Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic).

AFC:

Texans offensive lineman Jeff Adams suffered a torn patellar tendon in his knee, sources tell Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). It’s a season-ending injury for Adams, who figures to land on the team’s injured reserve list this week.
Bills defensive back Aaron Williams sustained what appeared to be one of the more serious injuries of Week 2, but head coach Rex Ryan passed along some positive news today, indicating that Williams was back at the team’s facility and is “doing OK.” As Tyler Dunne of the Buffalo News details, Ryan said it’s probably a stretch to think Williams will be back for this Sunday’s game against the Dolphins, but it sounds like he avoided a significant injury.
Jaguars running back Denard Robinson‘s knee injury is a sprained MCL, and he’s considered week to week, according to Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union (Twitter links).

Bills’ Aaron Williams Carted Off In Ambulance

September 20th, 2015 at 4:55pm CST by Rob DiRe

4:55pm: Williams’ father confirmed on Twitter that his son has full movement in all his extremities.

2:48pm: Bills cornerback Aaron Williams was injured making a tackle on Julian Edelman‘s touchdown catch, reports John Kryk of Postmedia Report in Toronto (via Twitter). He looked to have had an impact with his helmet and the back of Edelman during the diving tackle, an observation confirmed by Vic Carruci of the Buffalo News (via Twitter).

There was a long delay between the touchdown and the extra point, as the medical staff tended to Williams after the play. Williams had his head and neck immobilized before being taken off the field by an ambulance (via Twitter).

The Bills announced that Williams endured a neck injury, according to Mike Rodak of ESPN (via Twitter). Unsurprisingly, he has been ruled out for the remainder of the game.

Bills Notes: QBs, Injuries

August 29th, 2015 at 7:07pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Bills head coach Rex Ryan is closing in on a decision regarding the team’s three-way competition for the starting quarterback job. Ryan will make his choice for the No. 1 spot Sunday, but he won’t announce it yet, according to Joe Buscaglia of WKBW (Twitter link).

Tyrod Taylor, E.J. Manuel and Matt Cassel have been vying for the role throughout the spring and summer, and all three have fared well during the preseason. That was especially true Saturday, when the trio shredded Pittsburgh in a 43-19 victory. The three combined to complete 25 of 28 passes for 321 yards and two touchdowns. Taylor added a 20-yard TD run to his 12-of-13, 122-yard performance through the air. Saturday’s effort will likely be the last of the preseason for Taylor, Manuel and Cassel, as Ryan expects fourth-stringer Matt Simms to play all of Buffalo’s exhibition finale against Detroit, Rodak tweeted.

Here’s more on the Bills:

Third-year receiver Marquise Goodwin may have broken a few ribs Saturday, according to Ryan (via Twitter).
Ryan seems optimistic about No. 1 cornerback Stephon Gilmore, who departed Saturday with a shoulder injury. “Gilmore is gonna be fine, I hope. We need him,” Ryan said, per Buscgalia (Twitter link).
Safety Aaron Williams left the game with a leg injury before eventually returning. He was limping in the locker room afterward and “clearly not 100 percent,” Rodak reports (Twitter link).
Ryan said rookie linebacker Tony Steward hurt his MCL and will be out a few weeks, per Rodak (Twitter link).