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Former NFL wide receiver Mike Williams has died at the age of 36, his agent, Hadley Engelhard of EnterSports Management, confirmed to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport on Tuesday (September 12).
Williams' death comes less than a week after he was reported to have been placed on life support following a retracted report that he had died from injuries sustained in a construction accident.
“He will be missed. He fought hard his whole life. Prayers to his family," Engelhard said via Rapoport.
Engelhard confirmed that Williams was performing electrical work at the construction site when he suffered the fatal injury.
A GoFundMe page with a description written by his father, Wendell Muhammad, states that a steal beam fell on Williams' head "causing a massive head injury," which resulted in "swelling on his brain and swelling on his spinal cord that was ruptured." Williams reportedly experienced "complete paralysis in his right arm as well as his lower body from the waist down" and suffered severe breathing problems before being rushed to the intensive care unit, according to his father.
Williams was selected by the Buccaneers at No. 101 overall in the fourth-round of the 2010 NFL Draft and spent his first four seasons with the franchise. The Buffalo native was traded to the hometown Buffalo Bills in 2014, where he appeared in his last NFL game during his lone season with the franchise.
Williams recorded 223 receptions for 3,089 yards and 26 touchdowns during five NFL seasons.