Raiders sign running back Damien Williams

Damien Williams (YouTube)

According to ESPN on Friday, the Las Vegas Raiders have signed running back Damien Williams of San Diego, California. The Raiders become the fifth National Football League franchise Williams has played for in his career. He has previously played for the Miami Dolphins (2014 to 2017), the Kansas City Chiefs (2018 and 2019), the Chicago Bears (2021), and Atlanta Falcons (2022). The Raiders were in need of some running back depth because Josh Jacobs is currently holding out.

Williams opted out of the 2020 National Football League season. It was during the time of the coronavirus pandemic, and his mother was recently diagnosed with cancer. Williams was one of two Chiefs players not to play in 2020. The other was offensive lineman and doctor Laurent Duvernay-Tardif of Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Quebec, who went to Montreal to work in a long term care facility. 

Williams did not see much playing time in 2022. In fact, he only had two yards rushing for Atlanta in a game against the New Orleans Saints.

The most notable NFL season Williams has had in his career came in 2019, That season with the Chiefs he had 111 carries for 498 rushing yards and five touchdowns. Williams also had 30 catches for 213 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

During the 2019 NFL regular season, Williams had two electrifying performances. He had 12 carries for 125 rushing yards and one touchdown in a 26-23 Chiefs win over the Minnesota Vikings on November 3, and then 12 rushes for 124 rushing yards and two touchdowns in a 31-21 Chiefs win over the Los Angeles Chargers on December 29. In the win over the Vikings, Williams had a 91-yard touchdown run. It was the longest TD run during the 2019 NFL regular season and tied the longest run in Chiefs franchise history. Jamaal Charles of Port Arthur, Texas also had a 91-yard touchdown run for Kansas City on September 23, 2012 in a 27-24 Kansas City win over the New Orleans Saints. Then in the postseason in 2020, Williams had 17 rushes for 104 rushing yards and one touchdown as the Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers 31-20 in Super Bowl LIV.

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