Ex-Bucs, Bills WR Mike Williams reportedly responsive after having life support removed
Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Buffalo Bills receiver Mike Williams is surviving after having life support removed, according to his child's mother.
Tierney Lyle, the mother of Williams' 8-year-old daughter, told Buffalo's WIVB on Friday that Williams was taken off a ventilator Thursday evening and remains responsive.
"We need prayer warriors to continue praying and spread the word,” Lyle told WIVB. "... He goes hard in everything he does. He doesn’t give up easily at all."
Williams, 36, was admitted to the intensive care unit at St. Joseph’s Hospital on Sept. 1. Lyle told the Tampa Bay Times on Thursday that Williams was injured in a construction accident in Hillsborough County, Florida. A steel beam landed on his head, causing injury, WVIB reports.
The laceration on his head became infected, and Williams was placed into an induced coma upon being hospitalized, according to the report. A report that Williams died circulated widely earlier this week but was confirmed to multiple outlets to be false.
Williams played high school football and basketball in Buffalo before attending Syracuse, where he was a standout wide receiver for three seasons. He also played briefly for the Syracuse basketball team during the 2007-08 season.
The Bucs selected him in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft, and he was an All-Rookie selection after tallying 65 catches for 964 yards with 11 touchdowns. He played four seasons with the Bucs before being traded to his hometown Bills during the 2014 offseason. He played the 2014 season, his last in the NFL, in Buffalo. He retired with 223 catches for 3,089 yards and 26 touchdowns.
