Bills give 26yearold rookie Williams 2nd chance in NFL
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. Receiver Duke Williams doesnt blink an eye when reminded heparticipating in the Buffalo Bills rookie camp three days short of his 27th birthday.I feel like Im 21, Williams said, breaking into a wide grin Friday after spending the session with players six and seven years younger https://www.buffalostoreonline.com/83-Bills_Stefon_Diggs_Jersey. But Im not worried about it. Im just here to play. Thatall I can do. Age dont matter.Williams, whose first name is Dhaquille, is in Buffalo attempting to make up for lost time in what could be his final shot to make an NFL roster. I wouldnt say this is my last chance. But Ive made my mistakes, and Ive learned from them, he said. So italways in the back of my head Go get it. You aint got no more chances to mess up.'Williams is referring to his well-publicized checkered past.Itone in which he went from being considered a potential first-round draft pick to an undrafted free agent after being kicked out of Auburn during his senior year in 2015 following a bar fight in which he broke the jaw of teammate Xavier Dampeer.And it was only after a brief and failed bid to earn a spot on the Los Angeles Rams roster in 2016 that led to Williams spending the past two years confronting his shortcomings and rededicating himself to football by playing in Canada for the Edmonton Eskimos.Edmonton is always home for me because they gave me the opportunity at rebirth and to get back to where I need to be, said Williams, coming off a season in which he led the Canadian Football League with 1,579 yards receiving Taron Johnson Jersey, and scored 11 touchdowns. They will always have a place in my heart.Williams is equally thankful to the Bills for signing him to a reserve-future contract in January. He chose Buffalo over about four other NFL teams because of how the Bills are rebuilding through youth.Everythingstarting from the ground up right now, and I want to be a part of it, said Williams, who combined 135 catches for 2,294 yards and 15 TDs in 31 career CFL games.At 6-foot-2 and 229 pounds, Williams showed he can use size to his advantage. A video of him being taunted at the line by Garry Peters and then bowling over the B.C. Lions defensive back went viral on social media last October.He also possesses the breakout speed to outrun defenders. One of Williams touchdowns last year covered 95 yards.These are qualities the Bills lacked last year in what had been a young and patchwork group of receivers led by Zay Jones and Robert Foster. Though Buffalo added slot receiver Cole Beasley and speedster John Brown in free agency, Williams is considered a legitimate candidate to make the roster after Buffalo failed to add a receiver in the draft last month Bruce Smith Jersey.However much competition there is for jobs doesnt faze Williams.Ive got a chip on my shoulder so Im going to play hard Davis Webb Jersey. Im going to play with passion. And Im going to play with emotion, Williams said. I attack the game, and I attack whoeverin front of me. My job is to beat whoeverin front of me.Coach Sean McDermott is aware of Williams past, and likes what heheard so far from the player. McDermott referenced a recent story published in The Buffalo News in which Williams went into detail discussing how he matured playing in Edmonton.I like the fact that he seems to have developed some self-awareness in terms of what went on a few years back, to where he is now, and knowing what he must do to prove his worth to people in this league, McDermott said.Age and experience have led to Williams saying helearned to be more patient.Dont rush nothing. Everything happens for a reason, he said. My big, big, big, big emphasis is being humble Abraham Wallace Jersey. When Im humble, itlike Im at my best.From Louisiana, Williams is literally and figuratively aware of how far hehad to travel to earn a second chance at an NFL career.Man, if you all couldve went with me on that journey, you all wouldve known. But it definitely changed me, he said.Being away from home for those two years basically, I had to become a man. I had to grow, Williams added. And now Im more mature. And now Im actually having fun with it. Ita blessing to be here.
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