OAN’s Elizabeth Volberding
12:15 PM – Wednesday, September 6, 2023
Mike Williams, former NFL wide receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, died on Tuesday at age 36 after an accident occurred at a construction site in Tampa, Florida, according to reports.
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Williams, the Syracuse University standout and retired NFL wide receiver, had been working at a construction site on Tuesday when he suffered severe wounds in an accident.
Williams, who was born in Buffalo, New York, “passed away following injuries sustained during an accident on a construction site,” according to a story published on Tuesday night by a local Buffalo news station.
Earlier this week, the former football star’s father, Wendell Muhammad, also provided more information regarding the tragedy in a GoFundMe post set up by a woman named Latrina Moore.
Williams “recently had a major accident at work” in Tampa Bay, Florida, Muhammad claimed, in which “a steel beam fell on his head, causing a massive head injury.”
He did not specify when the tragedy occurred, however, he mentioned that on September 1st, Williams experienced “severe breathing problems and had to be rushed to ICU.”
After being rushed by emergency personnel to a Tampa hospital, the former NFL receiver “never regained consciousness,” according to his family.
“As a result of this accident, there was swelling on his brain and swelling on his spinal cord that ruptured,” his father wrote. “These injuries resulted in complete paralysis in his right arm as well as his lower body from the waist down. As you can probably imagine, this is painful for me and has me distraught.”
The Buffalo native had played for Syracuse for three seasons and led the team with 461 receiving yards.
In the 2010 NFL Draft, he was a fourth-round selection by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he made an excellent impression right off the bat.
“Dang man hurts my heart seeing the news of my former teammate and Buccaneers 2010 draft class brother Mike Williams,” former Bucs teammate Gerald McCoy wrote on X. “Always great energy brought joy and laughter to the locker room and a heck of a player!! Prayers and blessings to his family!!”
With 964 receiving yards and 65 receptions in his debut season, he finished one reception short of tying for the team lead. He led the team in scoring with 11 goals, and thanks to his outstanding season, he was named the “Offensive Rookie of the Year” in second-place, just behind Sam Bradford of the St. Louis Rams.
Before the 2013 season, the Bucs signed him to a contract for close to $40 million, but he only participated in six games before being moved to play for his hometown with the Buffalo Bills in New York in 2014.
Williams had intended to serve a six-game suspension in 2015, however, he was able to remain a free agent the entire season. He finished his football career spending part of 2016 with the Kansas City Chiefs in the offseason.
In his overall professional career, he played in 63 NFL games, starting in 52 of them, had 223 receptions for 3,089 yards, and 26 touchdowns.
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