Chiefs Damien Williams: Family Comes First – Serious real life stories are my favorite to write. It’s not often that we get to because we are usually writing about grown men playing a kid’s game. However, it takes sickness, and diseases to bring reality back to the forefront. And yes, real life drama and family, should always take priority over any amount of money or a game.
His early Years: Mother’s Sacrifice Paves the Way
Damien was born April 03, 1992 in San Diego, California. His Mother was Virleanna Alexander. Later she gave birth to 2 other brothers named Xavier and Delvin. Virleanna decided they needed a fresh start when Damien was heading into the ninth grade, when she moved from the Kearny Mesa area to El Cajon. Damien was a big hit at El Cajon Valley High. He played on the varsity football team, but his grades began to slip. Damien acknowledged he was more concerned with athletics and his social life than academics. Alexander moved the family back and Damien enrolled at Kearny High. He spent the year away from sports, working to get his grades above 2.0. When that was accomplished, his mother started looking for a better fit academically and athletically. Alexander told Steve Brand at the San Diego Union Tribune,
“I knew we wouldn’t stay in Kearny, just long enough to figure out where we could get the best education. I researched it and realized this was a good fit. I wanted a military-type atmosphere because that’s what we were used to, and we got that at Mira Mesa.”
Alexander acknowledged that having a successful athletic program didn’t hurt the decision to move into the Mira Mesa area and enrolled Williams before his junior season. She emphasized that academics come first, and there will be no sports without academics.
Virleanna Alexander doesn’t mind doing the cooking, cleaning and most of the household chores even though she works full time as a paralegal. Alexander, from the San Diego Union Tribune:
“They don’t have too many duties. I want them to go to school and get an education. They have no excuses as to why their homework isn’t finished. It has turned out.”
She hasn’t missed a game involving her two oldest sons (Delvin plays on the junior varsity). Damien knows his biggest fan will be in the stands, which makes him work that much harder. He set the school record for one season, with 2,033 rushing yards.
College Career Highlights
Miami Dolphins
Damien signed with Miami as a UDFA, he then made his NFL debut in the 2014 season opener against the New England Patriots. He had one kick return for 19 yards in the 33–20 victory. In the next game, a 29–10 loss to the Buffalo Bills, he had five carries for 19 yards. In Week 16, against the Minnesota Vikings, he had six receptions for 50 yards and his first professional touchdown. Overall, he finished the 2014 season with 36 carries for 122 yards and 21 receptions for 187 yards and a touchdown.
Miami: 2015 season
During Week 2, in a 23–20 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Williams had a receiving touchdown (13). He finished the 2015 season with 21 receptions for 142 yards and a touchdown.
Miami: 2016 season
In 2016, Williams played in 15 games, rushing for 115 yards and three touchdowns while recording 23 receptions for 249 yards and three touchdowns. The Dolphins made the playoffs and faced off against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card Round. In the 30–12 defeat, he had a four-yard receiving touchdown.
Miami: 2017 season
Williams was named the starting running back ahead of Kenyan Drake. He started four games before suffering a shoulder injury in Week 12. He was diagnosed with a dislocated shoulder and was expected to be out for two to three weeks and ended up missing the rest of the season as Kenyan Drake emerged as a key contributor for the Dolphins, starting the final six games with two 100 rushing-yard games.Williams finished the season with 46 carries for 181 rushing yards along with 20 receptions for 155 yards and a receiving touchdown.
Kansas City Chiefs
Damien signed as a free agent with the Kansas City Chiefs on March 22, 2018. Williams’ role increased after the release of former starter, Kareem Hunt.
On December 27, 2018, the Chiefs signed Williams to a two-year, $8.1 million contract extension. Moments after learning he’d be in Kansas City for a couple more years, Damien Williams picked up the phone and dialed a familiar number. On the other end of the line, his mom screamed as her son delivered the news. He’d been given a two-year contract extension with a maximum value of $8.1M. Williams finished the 2018 season with 256 rushing yards, four rushing touchdowns, 23 receptions, 160 receiving yards, and two receiving touchdowns.
Williams sad, “It’s a good feeling being able to make my family happy,” and added, that his family was one of his primary motivations for locking in his future now:
“[My mom] came out here, and she says she loved it. She wants to come back. That’s really why I did what I did and chose to do this right now. My family, they love it out here and they see I love it out here as well. So why not get it done?”
Damien also has a wife, Lilly and a daughter Dillon.
2018 Playoffs
He was called upon in the playoffs as the Chiefs feature back. In the Divisional Round victory over the Indianapolis Colts, he had 129 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown to go along with five receptions for 25 receiving yards. In the AFC Championship against the New England Patriots, he had 30 rushing yards, a rushing touchdown, five receptions, 66 receiving yards, and two receiving touchdowns in the 37–31 overtime loss.
2019 Season
During Week 9 against the Minnesota Vikings, Williams rushed 12 times for 125 yards and a 91-yard touchdown in the 26–23 win. This was his first game with at least 100 rushing yards of the season. The 91-yard run tied Jamaal Charles for the longest touchdown run in franchise history. In the regular-season finale against the Los Angeles Chargers, Williams rushed 12 times for 124 yards and two touchdowns, including an 84-yard touchdown, and caught four passes for 30 yards during the 31–21 win. Williams finished the 2019 season with 498 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns to go along with 30 receptions for 213 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.
2019 Playoffs
In the Divisional Round of the playoffs against the Houston Texans, he rushed 12 times for 47 yards and two touchdowns and caught two passes for 21 yards and a touchdown during the 51–31 win. In the AFC Championship Game against the Tennessee Titans, Williams rushed 17 times for 45 yards and a touchdown and caught 5 passes for 44 yards during the 35–24 win.
In Super Bowl LIV against the San Francisco 49ers, Williams rushed 17 times for 104 yards, including a 38-yard touchdown, and caught four passes for 29 yards and a touchdown during the 31–20 win. His receiving touchdown gave the Chiefs the lead while his rushing touchdown sealed the win. He is the first player in Super Bowl history with at least 100 rushing yards while recording a rushing and receiving touchdown.
Seriousness of Real Life
Kansas City Chiefs running back Damien Williams said he will opt out of the upcoming NFL season after his mother was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. Williams said on SiriusXM NFL Radio.
“I’m dealing with a family matter, my mom was just diagnosed with cancer and it’s Stage 4, so that was my decision. With everything that’s going on, she was the only one there for me. I never had the opportunity to have my dad there. My mom is my rock, my everything, so during a hard time like this, I think I should be next to her every step”.
Williams, 28, said he made the decision to skip this season after consulting with his family, friends and, of course, his mom:
“It was hard. I sat down and talked to everybody in my circle, my family and everybody close to me. My mom was just like, whatever’s your decision, I’m behind you. It was hard. Football is my life and coming off a championship and wanting a repeat — and I know they’re going to handle that (Chiefs #runitback) — but at the end of the day, it was something personal I had to handle.”
Family Come First: Summary
It’s times like this that professional sports and games, or the money involved with it, takes a back seat to the reality of life itself. We don’t hear about it nearly enough, because the players like to enjoy their private time; but yes professional sports stars have real lives too. They have family, and close friends away from the sport. They have good times and bad; and the same as anyone else they have poor health or strife that can take place in there inner circle. The Covid-19 has been hard for everyone worldwide, but the other diseases have not gone away.
Cancer is a very horrible disease that takes a lot of lives. I have lost all 5 of my grandparents to cancer, but my wife is a lung cancer survivor. So I know both sides of the spectrum. I have not known anyone personally that passed from Corona. The sicknesses, diseases, or any accidental deaths taking family or close friends from us is the sad part in life. Yes it’s very hard to do , but we must find the good coming out of it and keep pushing forward. There are still good times ahead.
God Bless All!
Alan Haupt — ArrowheadOne
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