Former NFL wide receiver Mike Williams died on Tuesday at 36 years old after succumbing to injuries he suffered in a construction accident, his agent told NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
“He will be missed,” Williams’s agent Hadley Engelhard said, per Rapoport. “He fought hard his whole life. Prayers to his family.”
The Buccaneers, for whom he played the majority of his NFL career, and his alma mater Syracuse were among the organizations to pay tribute to Williams on Tuesday.
Williams first suffered head injuries while executing electrical work in Florida on August 21, although his injuries were not originally considered life-threatening. However, according to Buffalo’s WIVB-TV, Williams’s health took a turn for the worse on Sept. 1 when he was hospitalized and induced into a coma.
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Last week, the New York Post erroneously reported Williams’s death while he was in the ICU, a report that was refuted by the Tampa Bay Times a day later. Instead, Williams remained on life support in St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa.
Williams was a Buccaneers fourth-round draft pick in 2010 out of Syracuse and finished second in Rookie of the Year voting after recording 964 yards and 11 touchdowns that season. He played four total seasons with Tampa Bay and one year in Buffalo, but played his last NFL game in 2014.
