PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — With his NFL journey almost as winding as his path to the league itself, Cascade High School’s Tyrell Williams has faced his fair share of adversity throughout his six years in the pros.
“This is the best I’ve felt in a long time and I just want to come in and prove I am the receiver that I am,” he told KOIN 6 News.
Williams has not caught an NFL pass since December 2019 after being plagued by a shoulder that wouldn’t stay in place.
“It was mostly just the dislocations that happened. I couldn’t really do much without it dislocating so it really wasn’t a painful thing but now it just feels intact, I guess you could say, it feels strong,” he said.
The 29-year-old had surgery to repair a torn labrum in September, sidelining him for the final year of his contract with the Raiders. This month, Williams signed a one-year $6.2 million deal with the Detriot Lions, where he’ll reunite with his former head coach Anthony Lynn, now the offensive coordinator in Detroit.
“Had a little bit of a connection, there so that helped a lot, and just getting to meet the other coaches and stuff, I love them,” Williams said, adding that “pretty much that whole staff is former players, which was really enticing to me to go out there.”
Williams is giving himself every advantage he can, including throwing his Southern California neighbor and new quarterback Jared Goff, who was recently traded himself, this offseason.
“He’s a great quarterback and I know talking with him he said he’s got a lot to prove,” he said. “It’s fun to play with other people who have that same chip on their shoulder.”
As a guy who had to go to catch at Oregon State’s pro day to get scouted out of college, the former Western Oregon Wolf knows something about playing with something to prove and is bringing a chip of his own to the Motor City.
“The biggest thing is not really stats or anything like that,” he said. “It’s just, each week knowing myself that I played well, that I went out there and gave everything I had and just made the plays. I feel like I’m a playmaker in this league.”