Mike Williams will not, in fact, see the field during his second stint with the Chargers. The veteran wideout is instead ending his career. 
Williams’ agent informed the Chargers last night that his client is retiring, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. As a result, Williams will depart the NFL at the age of 30. He spent eight years in the league, the first seven of which came as a member of the Bolts.
Five players opened training camp on the active/PUP list for Los Angeles. Williams was among them, but players can be activated from that list at any time before final roster cuts are made and those situations often include relatively minor ailments. Even in the event Williams would have been forced to remain on the PUP list through the first month of the campaign, returning to action at some point would have represented much less of a surprise than today’s news.
Selected seventh overall by the Chargers in 2017, Williams made a minimal impact as a rookie. From Year 2 onward, though, he established himself as one of the league’s top deep threats. Williams averaged an NFL-best 20.4 yards per reception in 2019 while reaching 1,000 yards. He managed a career-best 1,146 yards two years later while thriving as a complementary wideout to Keenan Allen.
Just like Allen, Williams found himself playing elsewhere in 2024. One of general manager Joe Hortiz‘s decisions during his first offseason in charge was to move on from the pair and thus reset financially at the WR position. Williams was released in a cost-shedding move, one which was quickly followed by a one-year Jets agreement. Things did not go according to plan in New York, with the Clemson product only logging a 53% snap share and making 12 scoreless catches.
A trade took place ahead of the deadline to send Williams to the Steelers. Pittsburgh was known to be in the market for a receiver addition, and he made 10 combined regular and postseason appearances with his new team. Aside from catching a touchdown during his Steelers debut, however Williams was largely a non-factor with the team. As a result, a lucrative free agent market did not exist this spring.
A Chargers reunion was worked out in March; Williams returned on a one-year pact worth a guaranteed $3MM (including a $1.5MM signing bonus). As the team contemplates attempting to get that money back, it will proceed without an experienced pass-catching option. Second-round rookie Tre Harris is among those holding out for full guarantees in his rookie deal, so for the time being the Chargers are notably shorthanded at the receiver spot. With over $27MM in cap space, Hortiz can target an addition from within the free agent pool (which still includes Allen) in time for the start of the year.
In all, Williams made 109 combined regular and postseason appearances during his career. He amassed over $86MM in earnings during his time in the NFL, something which has now come to a close.