HEADLINES

Xavier Williams

Chiefs Designate DT Xavier Williams To Return From IR

December 4th, 2019 at 6:20pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Chiefs’ defense has seen a few key players return to full strength in recent weeks, and the unit stands to soon have another key supporting-caster back. Xavier Williams returned to practice Wednesday, classifying him as an IR-DTR player.

After suffering a high ankle sprain, the fifth-year defensive tackle has been on IR since the days leading up to the Chiefs’ Week 7 game. He will not be able to return to game action until Week 16. The Chiefs have three weeks from Wednesday to activate Williams or place him on IR.

A Kansas City, Mo., native, Williams joined his hometown team in 2018 via RFA offer sheet. The former UDFA spent his first three seasons with the Cardinals. He started four games last season and played in all 16 regular-season games and both of Kansas City’s playoff contests.

The Chiefs have dealt with injuries to Williams, Chris Jones, Frank Clark, Emmanuel Ogbah and Alex Okafor this season. Jones, Ogbah and Okafor have returned to action. Kansas City has used second-year player Derrick Nnadi as its starting nose tackle for most of the past two years, so a Williams return will be a depth-based bonus for the AFC West leaders.

Chiefs Place Xavier Williams On IR

October 9th, 2019 at 11:29am CST by Zachary Links

It’s official. On Wednesday, the Chiefs placed defensive tackle Xavier Williams on injured reserve. 

Williams may or may not be a candidate to return later this year. Initial reports indicated that his high ankle sprain could rule him out for 4-6 weeks, which would allow him to return after a minimum of eight weeks on IR.

The Chiefs are also waiting for word on Chris Jones‘ groin strain, so it’s a double dose of defensive holes for the Chiefs. In the meantime, they’ve added defensive tackle Terrell McClain to help fill the gap, as well as offensive lineman Stefan Wisniewski.

Williams posted had eight tackles and one forced fumble in the first five games of the season. Last year, he saw time in every KC contest.

Chiefs’ Xavier Williams Headed To IR?

October 8th, 2019 at 8:53am CST by Zachary Links

Heads up for teams facing the Chiefs over the next 4-6 weeks: X might not be available to give it to ya. Nose tackle Xavier Williams has been diagnosed with a fairly severe high ankle sprain that will likely rule him out for 4-6 weeks, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. Even if 4-6 weeks is the timetable, Pelissero hears that he could be a candidate for injured reserve. 

The league’s IR mandates at least an eight-week absence, which would keep Williams out of action until the late stages of the regular season in December. That’d be a bad blow for the Chiefs, particularly as fellow defensive lineman Chris Jones awaits word on his groin strain. Both Jones and Williams suffered their injuries in Sunday’s loss to the Colts.

Through five weeks, Williams has eight total tackles. He played on roughly 1/3rd of the Chiefs’ defensive snaps through two weeks and saw a serious uptick in Week 3 against the Ravens (44%) and Week 4 against the Lions (49%).

Williams, if nothing else, will be out for Week 6 against the Texans.

Injury Updates: Chiefs, Giants, Shepard

October 7th, 2019 at 3:39pm CST by Zachary Links

Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones suffered a groin strain in Sunday night’s game, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. After the results of his MRI come in, the Chiefs will know whether Jones will miss games.

Jones, 25, has two sacks through five games this year. Last season, he was phenomenal and finished with a career-high 40 tackles and 15.5 sacks. Pro Football Focus ultimately ranked him fifth among 112 interior defenders, with his pass-rushing score ranking second at the position.

While we wait to hear whether Jones will miss the Chiefs’ Week 6 game against the Texans, or anything beyond that, here’s more from around the NFL:

  • Chiefs defensive tackle Xavier Williams has a badly sprained ankle, Rapoport tweets. It’s a certainty that he’ll miss time, but the timetable has yet to be fleshed out.
  • Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard is back in the concussion protocol, yet again (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Dan Duggan). This is Shepard’s second concussion this season, so it could be a while before he gets back on the field. Shepard had five catches for 49 yards against the Vikings in Week 5, bringing his season stat line to 25/267/1.
  • In more positive Chiefs news: guard Andrew Wylie (ankle) got good news on his Monday X-rays.

Xavier Williams To Sign With Chiefs

March 20th, 2018 at 4:33pm CST by Zachary Links

Xavier Williams is changing teams. The Cardinals have declined to match the offer sheet on the defensive lineman, clearing the way for him to sign with the Chiefs, according to Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star. 

Williams, 26, attended Grandview High School, which is roughly 30 minutes outside of Kansas City. He entered the league as an undrafted free agent, but he eventually became a regular sub for the Cardinals. Last season, he was in the rotation as he played on about 24% of the team’s snaps. The advanced metrics indicate that he could be capable of more as he graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 42 interior defender out of 122 qualified players.

The Chiefs have a pair of defensive tackles – Bennie Logan and Stefan Charles – in unrestricted free agency, so there’s a chance for Williams to compete for the top job at nose tackle. Jarvis Jenkins, who was re-signed earlier this month, figures to have the edge on that gig, however. Restricted free agent Rakeem Nunez-Roches  also figures to factor into the equation after being tendered at the original-round level.

Chiefs Host Cardinals RFA Xavier Williams

March 18th, 2018 at 3:58pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Chiefs hosted Cardinals restricted free agent defensive lineman Xavier Williams over the weekend, reports Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

If the Chiefs sign Williams to an offer sheet, the Cardinals will have the opportunity to match the contract and keep Williams in Arizona. If the Cards opt not to match, however, they won’t receive any draft pick compensation in exchange for losing Williams. Arizona tendered Williams at the original-round level, but because Williams was an undrafted free agent, Kansas City wouldn’t be forced to fork over any draft capital.

Williams, 26, garnered the highest playtime of his career in 2017, although he was still a rotational lineman with a snap percentage of roughly 24%. In his 11 appearances, Williams posted 16 tackles and a half-sack while grading as the No. 42 interior defender among 122 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus.

The Chiefs could see some movement at the defensive tackle position heading into 2018, as Bennie Logan and Stefan Charles are both unrestricted free agent. Kansas City has re-signed veteran Jarvis Jenkins and tendered RFA Rakeem Nunez-Roches at the original-round level, but it’s not out of the question that Williams could compete to start at nose tackle if he’s signed by the Chiefs.

If Williams doesn’t ink an offer sheet, he’ll stick on the Cardinals’ roster at a one-year cost of $1.907MM.

RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/13/18

March 13th, 2018 at 9:35am CST by Dallas Robinson

Here are today’s restricted free agent and exclusive-rights free agent tender decisions, with the list being updated throughout the day. All links go to Twitter unless otherwise noted:

RFAs

Tendered at original round level ($1.907MM):

Non-tendered:

ERFAs

Tendered:

Non-tendered:

Cardinals Add 14 UDFAs, Cut Two Players

May 5th, 2015 at 2:35pm CST by Luke Adams

John Carlson‘s retirement announcement was the big news out of Arizona today, but the roster is undergoing plenty of other changes as well. As Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com tweets, the team has let go of running back Zach Bauman and cornerback Roc Carmichael, and has agreed to terms with 14 undrafted free agents.

Here are the 14 newest Cardinals, per Urban, along with bonus info via Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic:

  • Cariel Brooks, CB, Adams State ($4K bonus)
  • Rob Crisp, T, North Carolina State ($15K bonus)
  • Alani Fua, LB, BYU ($17K bonus)
  • Trevor Harman, WR, Shippensburg
  • Edwin Jackson, LB, Georgia Southern ($1.5K bonus)
  • Andrae Kirk, LB, Florida Atlantic ($3K bonus)
  • Paul Lasike, RB, BYU ($500 bonus)
  • Gabe Martin, LB, Bowling Green ($4.5K bonus)
  • Damond Powell, WR, Iowa ($500 bonus)
  • C.J. Roberts, CB, Colorado State-Pueblo ($8K bonus)
  • Jaxon Shipley, WR, Texas ($9K bonus)
  • Gannon Sinclair, TE, Missouri State ($5K bonus)
  • Zack Wagenmann, LB, Montana ($8K bonus)
  • Xavier Williams, NT, Northern Iowa ($8K bonus)