The veteran linebacker announced his retirement Wednesday on the eve of training camp, just months after taking a pay cut to return for a ninth season.
The 31-year-old Williams appeared in 121 games for the Steelers after making the team as a sixth-round pick out of Florida State in 2013. He carved out early in his career as a special teams ace and then became one of the more physical inside linebackers in the NFL, forming a close bond with Ryan Shazier before Shazier’s career-ending back injury late in the 2017 season.