The Chicago Bears have brought in a familiar face to the backfield for some offensive help with the breaking news that former K.C. Chiefs running back Damien Williams has been signed to a one-year deal.
Wiliams will be joined by a pair of very familiar faces to him in former Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, who is the Bears head coach, and former Dolphins offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, who was with him in Miami.
Williams spent his first four seasons in the NFL with the Dolphins until his rookie contract played out. From there, he joined the Chiefs for a two-year run that included a Super Bowl win in 2019, the team’s first in 50 years. In that time, Williams became an unexpected postseason hero with an astounding 10 touchdowns in only five playoff games in K.C.
Williams decided to opt out for the 2020 season last year when his mother was diagnosed with stage four cancer. From there, he was set to return to the Chiefs, but the team released him earlier this offseason.
Damien Williams has found a new home with the Bears.
As for the Chiefs, they let Williams walk after rewarding another D. Williams—Darrel—with a $2 million-plus single-season contract that squarely puts him in the backup running back role behind former first-round pick Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Given the team’s desire to create maximum salary cap space, it made sense for the team to move on from Damien Williams despite his strong postseason history with the team since Damien was going to cost more than Darrel on the books as a third back on the roster. Darwin Thompson is now in the RB3 spot at this point in the offseason for K.C.
In two seasons with the Chiefs, Damien Williams, who turns 29 next month, had 161 carries for 754 rushing yards and 9 touchdowns on the ground. He added another 53 catches for 373 yards and 4 touchdowns through the air.