Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Williams is on life support after suffering catastrophic injuries while working at a construction site, according to Rick Stroud and Olivia George of the Tampa Bay Times. A Buffalo-based reporter incorrectly reported on Williams' death on Tuesday night.
Stroud and George wrote that the mother of Williams' daughter said "she believed the plan was to remove Williams from life support but that hasn’t happened yet."
Update: Former #Bucs, #Bills WR Mike Williams is currently on life support following construction accident, an hasn't passed, via @NFLSTROUD , who corrected a report by @JonScottTV
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 6, 2023
It's an inevitable process, according to @JA17MVP but currently Mike Williams is still alive… pic.twitter.com/FSiDvqB9cw
A GoFundMe account that had been set up said that Williams had been hit on the head by a steel beam at work. He ended up in intensive care due to the severe injuries from the accident. However, the GoFundMe reportedly isn't legitimate because the woman who was claiming to be Williams' mother was not actually his mother.
HEARTBREAKING: Former #Buccaneers and legendary Syracuse wife receiver Mike Williams is NOT DEAD, his agent Hadley Engelhard tells me, but Mike is on life support, largely unresponsive, but when his 8-YEAR OLD DAUGHTER visited him he started CRYING but could not move at all… pic.twitter.com/qgqophE0r9
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) September 6, 2023
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 played in only nine games for them.
During his NFL career, Williams had 223 catches for 3,089 yards and 26 touchdowns.
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