Damien Williams’ release is bittersweet for K.C. Chiefs fans

The K.C. Chiefs released running back Damien Williams on Tuesday afternoon in surprising fashion. While Williams had been a sneaky cut-candidate for some time, I personally don’t believe the cap space saved in the move, which is a little over $2 million, actually justifies the player lost in Williams.

Williams opted out prior to the 2020 season to be with his mother who has stage 4 cancer, so he has not been with the team for some time. The Chiefs essentially had to learn to live without him, and they did in a way that probably led the team to think cutting him was an easy option.

However, Williams’ contributions should not be easily forgotten. While he had a disappointing regular season in 2019 in the eyes of many (even though he still finished with 711 yards from scrimmage and 7 TDs), he exploded in the playoffs after recovering from lower-body injuries. In just two postseasons with the Chiefs, Williams posted 440 yards from scrimmage and a whopping 10 touchdowns.

People point to Sammy Watkins and Frank Clark as being notorious playoff performers for the Chiefs, but in reality, Williams trumps all of them with his production. He even scored the first touchdown that sparked the 24-0 comeback against the Houston Texans in the AFC divisional round. Williams was a playoff warrior.

It’s bittersweet for Chiefs Kingdom to see Damien Williams released.

Let’s also not forget that Williams was asked to step up in 2018 after the release of Kareem Hunt and the injury to Spencer Ware—and boy did he do it. In fact, Williams even had a higher YPC than Kareem Hunt in his time as the starting back for Kansas City. You know, back when they had an actual offensive line.

Lastly, Super Bowl LIV. We all love Patrick Mahomes but the truth is Williams was the MVP of that game with his clutch first down runs and his famous go-ahead touchdown at the pylon. Ultimately, the image of his game-sealing touchdown in the 4th quarter will forever live in the heads of Chiefs fans. Everyone will remember where they were when Williams ran his way into Chiefs history.

Williams was also a fantastic teammate to go along with his great play. He was well liked by many teammates and earned the nickname “Big Game Dame” from fans and the team. We’ll also never forget those fun moments such as Tyreek Hill constantly trying to catch Damien Williams on every one of his long runs after Williams claimed he was faster than Hill.

The really unfortunate part of Williams’s release is we really took his running style for granted, and it’s really sad now knowing the Super Bowl was his last game with the team. We won’t get to see him run behind a revamped offensive line, which if anyone remembers what Williams looked like behind a good offensive line, rewind to 2018 like I said.

People will shake off the loss of Williams because the team has Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Darrel Williams, which is true, but Damien Williams was an asset for this team. He was the only running back on roster with breakaway speed and home run ability and his athleticism was fantastic to witness. The cuts and the jukes were a thing of beauty from Williams. Furthermore, Williams was a great pass-catcher out of the backfield, and although he didn’t have the best vision, he complimented the other backs well and it’s a shame we’ll never get to see him and Edwards-Helaire together.

The release of Williams doesn’t come without some benefits. Of course, the team will free up some cap space. This is also a chance for the other running backs on roster to go out and prove themselves. Edwards-Helaire had a good rookie season, but can he become the player the Chiefs think they got when they drafted him and can he step up in the receiving game? We’ll see. How about Darwin Thompson? Most probably chalked him up as a guy that wouldn’t make the roster, but the Chiefs will almost certainly carry three backs, and he would be the third as of right now.

In the end, Williams’ release is bittersweet, but it made too much sense not to do it if the Chiefs think they can improve another position given that running back is widely regarded as the most replaceable position in football. All of that being said, thank you, Damien. You will always be welcome in Chiefs Kingdom.