Chargers WR, Former Top-10 NFL Draft Pick Mike Williams Retiring at Age 30

Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Mike Williams has retired from the NFL at age 30. Williams, who signed a $6 million, one-year deal in mid-March to return to the Chargers for his second stint with the team, was placed on the physically unable to perform list with an undisclosed injury on Monday. Two days later, he called it quits.

His agent, Tory Dandy, told general manager Joe Ortiz on Wednesday night, hours before the Chargers became the first NFL team to open training camp Thursday.

“It’s obviously a tough situation,” quarterback Justin Herbert said. “Football, at the end of the day, is a game and there’s more to life than just football, and I’m just hoping for the best for him.”

Williams played eight seasons in the NFL, including stints with both the New York Jets and the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024. 

The Chargers drafted Williams in the first round with the seventh overall pick in 2017. He had 330 career receptions, 5,104 receiving yards and 32 touchdown receptions over his eight-year career.

Williams’ pro debut was delayed by a back injury that caused him to miss training camp. He sat out the first six games of the regular season before seeing action. He was sidelined by a knee injury in Week 13.

In 2021, Williams and Herbert built a rapport early on, with Williams totaling six receiving touchdowns and 471 receiving yards in the team’s first five games. That set the stage for a breakout season, with Williams setting career highs in receptions (76), targets (129) and yards (1,146) while scoring nine touchdowns.

After the 2021 season, Williams signed a $60 million, three-year extension with the Chargers.

In 2022, Williams had a back fracture that kept him out of the team’s opening playoff loss to Jacksonville. The following season, Williams sustained a season-ending ACL tear in Week 3. He was released by the Chargers early last year.

Soon after, Williams signed a one-year deal with the Jets. He was later criticized by quarterback Aaron Rodgers for running the wrong route on a pass intended for him, leading to a game-clinching interception in a loss to Buffalo.

Last November, the Jets traded Williams to the Steelers for a fifth-round draft pick. He had a combined 21 receptions for 298 yards and a touchdown for both teams.

“I don’t want to say shocking, but [I’d definitely] love to have him out there with me,” safety Derwin James said of the news. 

Coach Jim Harbaugh made no mention of Williams’ decision when he spoke to the media earlier Thursday.

“Mike has always done such a great job of just showing up and working,” Herbert said. “He [has] been an excellent leader and teammate. That’s what we appreciate and love the most about him. It’s definitely tough to replace a guy like that. There [are] not too many guys like Mike, and we’re definitely going to miss him.”

Williams helped Clemson win the national championship in 2017 and then decided to forego his senior year to enter the draft. In 2015, he broke a bone in his neck after colliding with the goal post as he caught a touchdown pass.

With Williams gone, wide receiver Tre Harris’ holdout gains significance. The second-round pick out of Ole Miss has yet to report, but Herbert isn’t worried. “He’s done such a great job, especially in OTAs, of making up for that time,” Herbert said. “Whenever that deal gets done and he comes back, he’s not going to miss a beat.”

Harbaugh also downplayed Harris’ absence, saying, “There’s a business side to football. Him and Joe Hortiz will get that worked out. I hope it gets done sooner rather than later. That’s facts, as the young people say.”

The Chargers also signed tackle Ryan Nelson from the UFL.

Nelson started 22 of 28 games for the Michigan Panthers over the last three years in the UFL, including an appearance in the league’s championship game last year. Nelson, who is from nearby Buena Park in Orange County, played four seasons at Virginia.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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