It doesn't take much more than looking at the stat line throughout his career to understand what Kansas City Chiefs veteran wide receiver Mike Williams can do for an offense, and after signing with the team this offseason, he's one of the more intriguing players to watch over the next few weeks at training camp.
"I just want to help this team and fit in any way that I can," Williams told the media after Wednesday's practice. "I'm back doing what I love to do. It feels good to be out here again."
Williams missed all of OTAs and minicamp this offseason because of a hamstring injury, which is something that has followed him throughout his career.
He signed a multi-year contract extension with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before the 2013 season after an impressive three-year start to his career, but missed most of that next season with a hamstring injury and was traded to the Buffalo Bills just eight months later.
Williams played in nine games for the Bills in 2014 and was out of football last season.
"I think the main thing for him is that he stays healthy," Chiefs coach Andy Reid explained of Williams. "I think we know he can play. His thing is, he's been banged up. So if he can stay healthy, this is an offense that he can be very effective in. We'll just see how he does.
"He's one of those guys that has great tape, but it's with other teams and it's before he was hurt."
When the Chiefs signed Williams this offseason, they were hoping they could help get him back to the form that made him one of the NFL's top young playmakers at the receiver position when he first came into the league.
"He still has those really big hands," general manager John Dorsey said of Williams back when they first signed him. "He's just a larger‐type of catcher that, if you can get him back to where he was, you may have something there. We'll see."
Williams, who has nice size at 6 feet 2 and 212 pounds, is hoping he can regain the form he had early in his career for the Buccaneers, with whom he made 48 starts over a three-year period (2010-12).
During that time, Williams caught 193 passes for 2,731 yards with 23 touchdowns, and he still holds the Buccaneers franchise record for touchdown receptions in a season (11).
On Wednesday, Williams shared with the media that while he doesn't want to seem overconfident, he's happy with where he's at right now.
"I don't want to tell you this, but I think I'm kind of better to be honest," Williams said of where he's at now compared to early in his career. "I'm training a lot more, focusing a lot more on my plays.
"They have me in different positions. In Tampa, I only played one side. I didn't move around. They have me playing everywhere (in Kansas City)."
The first step for any new player coming into Reid's offense is to get a firm grasp on the playbook, which is something Williams said he's been focused on all offseason, putting in an extra hour of studying before he goes to bed each night.
"Before we even come out (to practice), me and the receivers get together and go over the script because [Reid's] playbook is really that in-depth," Williams added.
Williams is on the right track after making a couple of nice plays during Wednesday's practice, which caught the eye of Reid. "[Phillip Gaines] and [Mike Williams] were going back and forth (today)," Reid explained. "Both of them. I thought they competed very well."
While it's just one day of practice in shorts, the arrow is pointing up for Williams, and he'll be a player to watch over the next three weeks.
