Chiefs receiver Mike Williams feels primed for redemptive year

For the first time in what felt like forever, Chiefs receiver Mike Williams stepped on a plush practice field Wednesday and did his thing in cleats.

“I don’t want to, like, jinx myself or hype myself up,” he said.

Williams, who missed organized team activities this spring because of a hamstring injury, was anxious to see if he still had the skills he displayed for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers several years ago, before injuries and an NFL suspension derailed his career.

“I was scared of that question,” said Williams, 29. “I didn’t want to tell you this, but I think I’m kind of better, to be honest. I think I’m training a lot more, I’m focusing a lot more on my plays. They’ve got me in different positions. In Tampa, I only played one side — I never, like, moved around. They’ve got me playing everywhere (here). So we’ll see.”

Williams, a fourth-round pick by Tampa out of Syracuse in 2010, led all rookies with 65 catches for 964 yards and a franchise-record 11 touchdowns. He also posted solid seasons in 2011 and 2012, averaging 64 catches for 883 yards and six touchdowns, before signing a six-year, $40 million extension in July 2013.

But hamstring issues limited him to 22 catches for 216 yards and two touchdowns in six games. Williams was traded to Buffalo in April 2014 for a sixth-round pick and caught eight passes for 142 yards and a touchdown in nine games. He also had a calf injury and was inactive for several games before his release in December 2014.

Williams wasn’t on an NFL roster in 2015, when he was suspended by the league for the first six weeks because of an undisclosed issue.

So Wednesday’s practice was a long time coming for Williams.

“It felt real good, man,” he said. “That’s what I wanted to do. That’s what I’ve been training for, to get back out here.”

And Williams is taking the opportunity seriously. He mentioned multiple times that he’s diligently working toward understanding Chiefs coach Andy Reid’s voluminous playbook, which occasionally requires receivers to adjust their routes based on defensive schemes and formations.

“Usually you get a playbook, and once you go out the first day, you’ll be like, ‘All I’ve got to do is get reps, and once I get the reps in, I’m good,’ ” Williams said. “It’s just, his playbook, you’ve got to study every single day. It’s something different.”

Williams said he spends a few hours a day learning the playbook with his teammates, but he also pours over it at night, too.

“I’ve got to put in an extra hour before I go to sleep,” Williams said. “And before we even come out (for practice), me and the receivers get together and go over the script, because his playbook is really that in-depth.”

But while learning the playbook is Williams’ No. 1 priority, Reid says there’s something else Williams will need to do to be a factor in the Chiefs’ wide-open competition for receiver slots behind established No. 1 target Jeremy Maclin.

“I think the main thing for him is that he stays healthy,” Reid said. “I think we know that he can play. His thing is that he’s been banged up. So if he can stay healthy, this is an offense that he can be very effective in.”

Reid is quite confident in the latter point, based on Williams’ past success.

“He’s one of those guys that has tape, and it’s great tape,” Reid said. “But it’s with other teams, and it’s before he was hurt.”

But if you ask cornerback Phillip Gaines — who was tasked with defending the 6-foot-2, 212-pound Williams during portions of Wednesday’s light practice for rookies and selected veterans — he still has some of those same tools.

“He’s got a big body, but he has a short area of quickness that makes up for his size,” Gaines said. “You read him initially and think he’ll be a little slower, but he’s really quick and has some good hands. He’ll be a good element to our team if he keeps working. I’m sure they’ll work him into our system, and he’ll make some plays.”

Williams, who certainly doesn’t lack confidence, agrees. When asked about his matchup with Gaines, he complimented the young corner — “he’s good, too,” he said — before adding that he expects to thrive against anybody.

“It doesn’t matter who you put on me, it’s going to be a challenge for them,” Williams said. “So that’s how I look at it.

“I’m back to doing what I love to do.”

This story was originally published July 27, 2016 at 3:44 PM with the headline "Chiefs receiver Mike Williams feels primed for redemptive year."