Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Buffalo Bills receiver Mike Williams is alive after being removed from life support, according to the mother of his son.
Tierney Lyle, the mother of Williams’ 8-year-old daughter, told Buffalo’s WIVB on Friday that Williams was taken off a ventilator Thursday night and remains responsive.
“We need prayer warriors to keep praying and spreading the word,” Lyle told WIVB. “… He keeps going with everything he does. He doesn’t give up easily.”
Williams, 36, was admitted to the intensive care unit at St. Joseph’s Hospital last 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 injuries, WVIB reports.
The laceration on his head became infected, and Williams was placed in an induced coma while hospitalized, according to the report. A report that Williams had died circulated earlier this week but was confirmed by multiple outlets as false.
Williams played high school football and basketball at Buffalo before attending Syracuse, where he was a standout wide receiver for three seasons. He also played shortstop 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 previously which was sold 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.