Former NFL wide receiver Mike Williams died Tuesday morning after suffering a freak accident while working on a construction site.
It had been reported that Williams, 36, was doing electrical work when he suffered the fatal accident.
His agent, Hadley Engelhard, confirmed Williams passed away, via Ian Rapoport saying: ‘He will be missed. He fought hard his whole life. Prayers to his family.’
The Syracuse college star, who played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Buffalo Bills across five years in the NFL, called time on his football career in 2016.
The mother of his daughter, Tierney Lyle, said last Friday that Williams had been taken off life support and that he remained responsive in a Tampa hospital.
‘We need prayer warriors to continue praying and spread the word,’ she told WIVB News 4.
‘He goes hard in everything he does. He doesn’t give up easily at all.’
According to WIVB News 4, two people close to Williams said that he suffered the accident on August 21, and it was not initially believed to be life-threatening.
Williams was reportedly hit in the head with a beam while doing electrical work, but the cut eventually became infected.
He was then hospitalized on September 1 and later induced into a coma, where he was put on life support.
Further details of the accident were previously revealed on a GoFundMe page, purportedly set up by Williams’ father, Wendell Muhammed.
The page was created in a bid to help Williams’ father, who lives in Dallas, Texas, travel to the hospital in Tampa Bay.
Williams’ father went on to explain that the ex-NFL star suffered swelling on his brain and spinal cord, as well as complete paralysis in his right arm and below the waist.
In a statement the Bucs said:’We are saddened to hear of the untimely death of Mike Williams, which has left our organization, his former teammates and fans with heavy hearts.
‘We send our deepest sympathies to his family and loved ones as they mourn this tragedy. ‘
In his five-year NFL career, Williams tallied 223 receptions for 3,089 receiving yards and 26 touchdowns.
He played in 63 career games over five seasons, and was a fourth-round choice for the Bucs in the 2010 NFL Draft.
The football player came second in Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year, to Sam Bradford, who played for the then-St Louis Rams.
Williams started in all 16 games that season and hauled in 11 touchdowns and 964 receiving yards on 65 receptions, turning in nine touchdowns and 996 yards in the 2012 season.
But his 2013 season was curtailed by injuries and he was later traded by the Buccaneers to the Bills.
He played his final season with the Bills and later was briefly with the Kansas City Chiefs organization.
