Dolphins’ Trill Williams focused on process amid push for roster spot
The process of securing a 53-man roster spot for any fringe player is an exhausting one in the NFL. This upcoming week’ a third of every NFL’s roster is going to learn that they didn’t make the team — and although there are opportunities to stick via the practice squad, the prestige and opportunity that comes with making the active roster is what every player dreams of.
For Dolphins defensive back Trill Williams, this isn’t necessarily the path you’d have guessed he’d be on one year ago — when he entered what would be his final season at Syracuse as a perceived mid-round draft prospect. But an ankle injury derailed his medials and eventually prompted him to go undrafted. From there, he was signed to the Saints and in-house for three days before getting pushed to waivers; where Miami struck.
All Williams has done since is make plays.
But he’s still facing the challenge of making the roster — a daunting task in a loaded Dolphins secondary. But Williams is focused on staying driven by his path and controlling the process: practicing hard, making plays and being committed to improvement.
“I feel like I went out there (at camp) and did everything I could and I put my best foot forward trying to make this team. It’s really hard. We’ve got a lot of great DBs on this team. All I can do is just go out there and give it my all. That’s the only thing I can do,” said Williams on Friday.
His all is enough to create quite the stir in trying to keep him off the roster. But Williams will have one final stand in his bid to make the team: a preseason contest tomorrow afternoon against the Cincinnati Bengals — with presumably plenty of playing time on the table given the status of many Dolphins starters as sitting for this game.
Williams will know his fate by Tuesday afternoon, along with the rest of the fringe players. He’s an easy player to root for and, given his unorthodox path, not likely someone that would survive the waivers to get stashed on the practice squad. So Miami will need to thing long and hard about his future. But for Williams, he’s focused on the process. Whether or not that’s enough? Time will tell.
