Mike Williams has given up attempting to impersonate an offensive tackle as the wide receiver has dropped 30 pounds to give a full attempt in what might be his last shot at an NFL job.After failing miserably in Detroit and Oakland, Williams was signed by the Titans late last year, but they weren't exactly impressed with the former first-round pick. And since they don't have anything invested in him, they don't have to be nice.
"That conversation with Fisher, only a fool wouldn't take it as such," Williams said of the coach's ultimatum after a recent minicamp session. "It was pretty much, `You make a commitment to be in shape when you come back or ... move forward."Now here's where it gets tricky. According to the story, Williams weighs somewhere around 245-250 pounds right now, although he's laughably listed at 230 pounds on the Titans Website. Williams said he played at above 260 pounds last year (he wasn't more specific), but if his 30 pounds of weight loss can be believed, he actually tried to play receiver last year while carrying closer to 280 pounds--which would make him one of the bigger tight ends in the league, and the fattest receiver since William "The Fridge" Perry ran a route.
.Even when he was 230 pounds coming out of college, there were concerns that Williams was too big and slow to make an NFL impact. It seems nearly impossible for him to get back to that college playing weight, and it also seems nearly impossible for him to ever live up to the expectations he had coming out of USC.
Now it's always stupid to completely rule out the chances of a former star turning their career around. But in Williams case, it will be a shock if he ever becomes more than a back-of-the-roster filler. It's now been five years since Williams actually starred on a football field, and even with a renewed emphasis on conditioning, he's still struggling to battle against faster, more agile cornerbacks. He may have a size advantage, but with them able to laugh at his ability to beat them deep, it's hard to get open on the underneath routes
