Rodney Williams
No. 87 – Pittsburgh Steelers
Position:Tight end
Personal information
Born: (1998-04-08) April 8, 1998[1]
Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High school:Germantown (TN)
College:UT Martin (2016–2021)
Undrafted:2022
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Active
Career NFL statistics as of Week 11, 2023
Tackles:3
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Rodney Williams II (born April 8, 1998)[1] is an American football tight end for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at UT Martin and was signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2022.

Early life and high school

Williams was born on April 28, 1998, in Memphis, Tennessee.[2] He attended Germantown High School and was a standout athlete in football, basketball and track.[3] He was an all-metro and all-district selection in football and won both the regional and state championship in high jumping.[3][4] He committed to play college football for the UT Martin Skyhawks.[4]

College career

Williams began his collegiate career as a wide receiver.[5] He appeared in eight games as a true freshman at UT Martin in 2016, recording four receptions for 78 yards.[4] He appeared in 10 games with four catches for 32 yards in 2017 before totaling 23 receptions for 252 yards in 2018 while seeing his first action as a starter.[4] He redshirted due to an injury in 2019 after having appeared in four games with nine catches for 111 yards.[4] Williams switched to tight end in the 2020–21 season and was selected second-team FCS All-American after recording 30 catches for 327 yards and four touchdowns.[5][6][7] He was a second-team all-conference selection in his final year, the fall 2021 season, in which he tallied 29 receptions for 417 yards and three touchdowns.[4] He finished ninth in UT Martin history for receptions with 99, also having posted 1,217 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.[8]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jumpBench press
6 ft 3+1⁄4 in
(1.91 m)		 235 lb
(107 kg)		 33+7⁄8 in
(0.86 m)		 9 in
(0.23 m)		4.55 s1.52 s2.52 s4.16 s7.44 s40.5 in
(1.03 m)		10 ft 10 in
(3.30 m)		21 reps
All values from Pro Day[9]

Denver Broncos

After going unselected in the 2022 NFL Draft, Williams was signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent.[8] He was waived on August 16, 2022.[10]

Pittsburgh Steelers

On September 13, 2022, Williams was signed to the practice squad of the Pittsburgh Steelers.[11] He signed a reserve/future contract on January 10, 2023.[12] He was waived on August 29, 2023, and re-signed to the practice squad the next day.[13][14] He was promoted to the active roster on October 4, after an injury to Pat Freiermuth.[15] During week 5 against the Baltimore Ravens, Williams recovered a punt blocked by teammate Miles Killebrew for a safety to help the Steelers win 17–10.[16]

References

  1. 1 2 "Rodney Williams Biography". ESPN. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Rodney Williams Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  3. 1 2 "Rodney Williams". The Commercial Appeal. June 8, 2016. p. 21 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Rodney Williams II". UT Martin Skyhawks.
  5. 1 2 Adamski, Chris (July 26, 2023). "Steelers 2-a-days: OT Jarrid William a late signing, Rodney Williams lost amid talented TE room". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
  6. ↑ Adamski, Chris (August 9, 2023). "Rodney 'Hot Rod' Williams making plays for Steelers, but fights numbers game at TE". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
  7. ↑ Kellem, Joshua (May 26, 2022). "Broncos offseason roster: No. 86, TE Rodney Williams". USA Today.
  8. 1 2 "UT Martin's Rodney Williams II Signs Free Agent Deal With Denver Broncos". UT Martin Skyhawks. April 30, 2022.
  9. ↑ "2022 Draft Scout Rodney Williams II, Tennessee-Martin NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  10. ↑ DiLalla, Aric (August 16, 2022). "Broncos waive five players to reach 85-player roster limit". Denver Broncos.
  11. ↑ Varley, Teresa (September 13, 2022). "Steelers add two to practice squad". Pittsburgh Steelers.
  12. ↑ Adamski, Chris (January 10, 2023). "Steelers sign 10 to reserve/future contracts, including 9 of their 16-man practice squad". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
  13. ↑ Strackbein, Noah (August 29, 2023). "Steelers Make Final Roster Cuts". Sports Illustrated.
  14. ↑ Varley, Teresa (August 30, 2023). "Steelers add nine to the practice squad". Pittsburgh Steelers. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  15. ↑ Stockley, Andrew (October 4, 2023). "Steelers promote TE Rodney Williams from practice squad". WTAE-TV.
  16. ↑ Adamski, Chris (October 8, 2023). "'Best in the world' at blocking punts, Miles Killebrew again makes big play for Steelers". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
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