No one could've predicted the breakout season that Bears defensive lineman Nick Williams enjoyed in 2019.
The 29-year-old journeyman who was out of football in 2017 exploded for six sacks and became one of Chicago's most disruptive front-line defenders. This, from a player who had never recorded a start, let alone a sack, in his previous stops that included Pittsburgh, Kansas City and Miami between 2014 and 2016.
“The way it happened, nobody could’ve wrote a better story,” said Williams. “Being on the street in ’17 and the Bears giving me a shot in ’18, coming back here in ’19 and actually being able to contribute to the team and play the way that I did. I just wanted to gain the respect of my teammates and let the organization and the coaches know that they made a good decision in bringing me in.”
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Mission accomplished.
Next up for Williams is unrestricted free agency, where he's certain to be a hot commodity in a league that values interior pressure now more than ever.
“I think I’m gonna have fun in free agency this year,” he said. “We’ll see what happens in the future. Obviously, I want to be back here. I want to be a Bear. I love this organization. They’ve afforded me a lot of great opportunities. I like this locker room. I like my teammates. We’ll see what happens.”
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