Tag: Damien Williams

Where former Sooners rank in Fantasy Rankings for the upcoming season

As you get ready for your fantasy football drafts, let’s take a loot at where former Oklahoma Sooners land on Fantasy Pro’s Expert Consensus Rankings for 2021.

The Oklahoma Sooners have produced quite a bit of NFL talent on the offensive side of the ball in the last decade. They’ve provided fantasy football players with highly productive players at various positions. In the last couple of years, former Sooners have broken onto the scene in the form of Joe Mixon (2017), Baker Mayfield (2018), Kyler Murray (2019), and CeeDee Lamb (2020).

Fantasy football players will find incredible value in certain Sooners while others will require high draft picks.

Let’s take a look at where former Oklahoma Sooners rank in the most recent Expert Consensus Rankings over at FantasyPros.com. The Expert Consensus Rankings collect rankings from around the fantasy football industry and collate them into a consensus.

Bears fans need to pump the brakes on Damien Williams

The Chicago Bears added veteran running back Damien Williams, who’s likely to provide nothing more than veteran depth.

Aside from the signings of QB Andy Dalton and CB Desmond Trufant, who was added to replace the loss of defensive standout Kyle Fuller, the Chicago Bears haven’t had what can be called an exciting offseason.

So it should come as no surprise that Bears fans experienced a swell of enthusiasm over the addition of veteran running back Damien Williams, who Chicago signed to a one-year deal on Wednesday.

Williams opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns and is best remembered for his 17 carries, 104 yards and two touchdowns (one receiving) in the Chiefs’ Super Bowl LIV victory. It’s that kind of last-in-time, first-in-memory impression that has Bears fans feeling charged up over what he’ll bring to the offense in 2021.

And while it’s true Williams has familiarity with the Bears’ offense and should have little trouble acclimating himself under coach Matt Nagy, the reality is he’s never been more than an off-the-bench player who was able to excel in the most running-back friendly situation in the league between 2018-2019.

William’s career-year came in 2019 when he totaled 498 yards and five scores.

Again: 498 yards.

Williams, much like the Mike Davis addition last offseason, is far from a sure-thing for the final roster in 2021, especially if the Bears add another running back in the middle rounds of April’s draft, something Pace has a track record of doing.

There’s no doubt that David Montgomery will be the bell cow of the offense next season, and the return of Tarik Cohen gives Chicago another offensive chess piece to use out of the backfield. A player like Williams, who has running and receiving chops, is a quality reserve who can pick up the slack if either Montomgery or Cohen needs a breather.

But to expect anything more than that is the result of hunting for excitement in an otherwise boring offseason.

Twitter reacts to Damien Williams signing with Bears

The Bears signed Damien Williams to serve as depth at running back, and Twitter was pleased with the move.

The last time new Chicago Bears running back Damien Williams was on the football field, he was powering the Kansas City Chiefs to a championship victory when they defeated the San Francisco 49ers to win Super Bowl LIV. Now, the veteran running back joins the Bears on a one-year deal, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. 

Williams came into the league as an undrafted free agent in 2014, signing with the Miami Dolphins. After four seasons, he signed with the Chiefs and became a key component in their championship run in 2019. “Playoff Damien” ran for 104 yards and one touchdown in the Chiefs Super Bowl win. He also added a receiving touchdown. It was the last game Williams played, however.

Last July, Williams opted out of the 2020 NFL season due to COVID-19 concerns. He was released by the Chiefs last week.

The 28-year old joins a running back room led by David Montgomery and Tarik Cohen. He’ll likely serve as the primary backup to both players and provides solid depth to the position as a dual-threat back.

As with any move concerning the Bears, fans and experts shared their thoughts on the team’s newest offensive weapon. But the vast majority seem to agree that general manager Ryan Pace nailed it with this acquisition.

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Report: Former Chiefs RB Damien Williams to sign with Bears

Williams has found his new free-agent home in Chicago with Matt Nagy and the Bears.

Former Kansas City Chiefs RB Damien Williams has found a new home in free agency.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Williams is set to sign a one-year deal with the Chicago Bears. That’s where former Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy currently resides as head coach. While the two didn’t overlap during their respective stays in Kansas City, the expectation is that Williams will be able to pick up the system rather quickly. He’ll also be working with OC Bill Lazor, who is familiar with Williams from when they were on the Dolphins together from the 2014-15 NFL seasons.

Williams was released by the Chiefs ahead of the official start of free agency. The 28-year-old running back opted out of the 2020 NFL season to take care of his mother, who was diagnosed with cancer.

In his two seasons playing for the Chiefs, Williams amassed 1,127 scrimmage yards on 214 touches with 13 total touchdowns. He also has 10 career postseason touchdowns in that span, which are the most in franchise history. He’ll always be remembered by Chiefs Kingdom for his heroics in Super Bowl LIV, propelling the team to a comeback victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

Unfortunately, since Williams was released, he won’t count toward the compensatory pick formula even if the contract he signs would have qualified him toward it.

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Bears agreed to terms with RB Damien Williams on one-year deal

RB Damien Williams signs one-year deal with Chicago Bears.

The Chicago Bears added to their running back room on Wednesday.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Bears signed Damien Williams to a one-year deal. Williams previously was with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Last week, Williams was released by KC in a bit of a surprise move which saved them $2.2 million against the salary cap.

In 2020, Williams opted out of playing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the season prior, Williams averaged 4.5 yards per carry with the Chiefs in 11 games played. He also added five rushing scores.

The 28-year-old is known for the pass-catching abilities as well. He had 30 catches for 213 yards and two touchdowns in 2019.

Williams notably caught headlines in a pretty big game that season: The Super Bowl. That outing saw Williams put up 133 total scrimmage yards with two fourth-quarter touchdowns.

The Chiefs took home the title with a 31-20 win over the San Francisco 49ers. Williams had the go-ahead score and then the final one which iced the game.

Undrafted out of Oklahoma in 2014, Williams signed with the Miami Dolphins and played four seasons there. Bears offensive coordinator Bill Lazor held that same role with the Dolphins in Williams’ first two pro seasons.

Williams joins a Chicago backfield with David Montgomery and Tarik Cohen.

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3 reasons why Chiefs moved on from RB Damien Williams

It stinks to see him go, but the Chiefs have some good reasons for moving on from Damien Williams.

The Kansas City Chiefs release of RB Damien Williams came as a bit of a shock, even to him. Of course, Williams was a vital part of the Chiefs’ Super Bowl LIV run. He opted out of the 2020 NFL season to take care of his mother, who was diagnosed with cancer. He was hopeful for a return to action with Kansas City in 2021, but for several reasons, it didn’t happen.

Here’s a quick look at three of the reasons why the team moved on:

Chiefs to release RB Damien Williams

The Chiefs say goodbye to one of their heroes from the Super Bowl LIV win.

The Kansas City Chiefs are set to release one of the heroes of their Super Bowl LIV victory.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Chiefs are releasing RB Damien Williams. Kansas City Star beat writer Herbie Teope confirmed the report. Williams first joined the Chiefs as a free agent back in 2018, but his role was limited until they’d released former starting RB Kareem Hunt. He would be a major part of the Chiefs’ postseason run in 2018, scoring touchdowns against both the Indianapolis Colts in the divisional round and New England Patriots in the AFC title game.

In 2019, Williams was named starting running back by offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy before training camp. He’d ultimately split work with LeSean McCoy early on, but separated himself late in the season, appearing in 11 games, rushing for 498 yards and five touchdowns on 111 carries. In Super Bowl LIV, Williams scored the go-ahead touchdown and the touchdown that ultimately won the game for the team.

Williams opted out of the 2020 NFL season to take care of his mother, who was diagnosed with cancer. In total, Williams will finish his Chiefs career with 1,127 scrimmage yards on 214 touches with 13 total touchdowns. He added another 10 touchdowns in the postseason, which is currently a franchise postseason record for touchdowns scored.

The release will save the Chiefs roughly $2.1 million in salary-cap space, some of which the team probably used today to re-sign RB Darrel Williams. That move signaled that something might be coming with Damien and now we know that to be true.

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Report: Chiefs RG Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, RB Damien Williams expected back in 2021

The players who opted out in 2020, will opt back in for the 2021 season according to a new report.

The Kansas City Chiefs are expected to return two key contributors during the 2021 NFL season. According to a new report from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, RG Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and RB Damien Williams both expect to return to the Chiefs and play in 2021.

Duvernay-Tardif, who opted out of the 2020 NFL season to work in a long-term care facility near his hometown in Canada, had already confirmed that he intends to be back next season. This is the first that we’ve heard of Williams returning to action, though. Williams opted out to take care of his mother who is battling stage 4 cancer. He, of course, played a prominent role in the Chiefs’ Super Bowl LIV win a season ago.

Both players returning to action in 2021 would be a big boost to the offense. Duvernay-Tardif would provide another veteran option to an offensive line that has battled through injury and adversity throughout the 2020 season. Williams would give the Chiefs another dynamic option out of the backfield to pair with RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire, bolstering depth at a position that could lose a few pieces to free agency.

There’s currently no news on rookie OT Lucas Niang, but given the latest about these two veteran players, it’s safe to assume that he’ll be back for Kansas City too.

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A look at each Oklahoma Sooner to have played in Super Bowl history

There has been at least one former Oklahoma Sooner to play in the Super Bowl in 32 of 54 games. A look through history at each one.

The Super Bowl will be upon us before you know it and there is no shortage of history in the game when it comes to the Oklahoma Sooners. Continue reading “A look at each Oklahoma Sooner to have played in Super Bowl history”

Kansas City Chiefs activate Le’Veon Bell, who will wear No. 26

The Kansas City Chiefs have activated Le’Veon Bell.

The Kansas City Chiefs activated Le’Veon Bell on Saturday and gave the running back the No. 26 Damien Williams had been wearing for the previous two seasons before opting-out of 2020 to help his mom who is battling cancer.

The Chiefs had announced they totally supported Williams when he made his decision in July.

However, one has to wonder if they checked in with the running back before handing off the digits he has worn in college and shifted to after two seasons with No. 34 in Miami. Williams wore No. 26 for both his seasons as a Chief.

Of course, Bell had already celebrated his signing Thursday with the Super Bowl champs by posting a photoshopped image of himself in a red No. 26 Chiefs jersey. Bell will make $690,000 in salary for the remaining 12 weeks of this season, and can earn up to $1 million in playing time and playoff incentives, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.

And to show how the Jets can never win, Bell will be paid $6 million in salary from Gang Green, which also owes him a million-dollar roster bonus. Bell is owed that money, which was guaranteed as termination pay under the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

The Chiefs visit the Buffalo Bills on Monday.