A decision to get healthier by enrolling in a fitness clinic at Duke and a phone call from a reporter doing a "Where are They Now?" story landed the Redskins a candidate to play right tackle, a position at which they're not thrilled with holdovers Jon Jansen and Stephon Heyer.
Even though Mike Williams hasn't played football since Nov. 27, 2005 and weighs about 400 pounds -- Redskins coach Jim Zorn says he was "as big as two guys standing side by side" -- the 6-foot-6 fourth pick overall in the 2002 draft is nothing but confident.
Asked if he thought he would start this year, Williams said firmly, "I didn't come here not to."
Williams and his wife, Enisha, moved in with University of Texas linemate Derrick Dockery and the Redskins guard's wife, in mid-April to take care of their god-daughter Madison while her parents were occupied with a baby due any day.
When the Redskins read the story in The Dallas Morning News about Williams' desire to play again, they called Dockery. Williams tried out the next day, April 24, and was promptly signed to a minimum salary deal with the proviso that he get down to 360-370 pounds before he could begin practices.
"I wanted something different for my life, just health-wise," said Williams, carrying a salad just as his wife was texting him to bring Chipotle for her. "Then I'm like, 'I'm feeling really good.' I definitely missed playing. I know I still have the talent."
That's what Buffalo thought when it drafted Williams after he had allowed just two sacks in 28 starts for the Longhorns. His attitude became an issue in 2004 and a lingering high ankle sprain and a failure to adjust to left guard in 2005 caused the Bills to cut him the next winter to avoid a $10.8 million salary cap hit. Williams signed with Jacksonville but spent the year on injured reserve with a herniated disc. He was going to try out for Oakland in 2007 when the back acted up, requiring surgery. And that was that. Until now.
"I realized my gifting is in football," said Williams, who has been running an oil services company. "I was built for it. I know I can play this game. If you're not ... utilizing those abilities, you are a fish out of water. And that's what I was in the business world. There was something missing. It does come down to a choice. Do you love it? You've got to choose to love this game. The grind, the time away from family, you've got to choose to love that."
Williams has to prove he loves the game by dropping the rest of the weight and then prove that at 29 and after three years out of the NFL, he can still play.
"It's a challenge, but I know I can do it," Williams said. "I (hadn't) kick-stepped or fired off the ball in three years, but when I was out there doing it (last week), it felt so natural. If I wasn't what they wanted, I wouldn't be here. That gives me confidence."
