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Devin Singletary NFL Jersey , N.Y. (AP) — Kyle Williams knows he’s more than capable of returning for a 14th season. What the Buffalo Bills defensive tackle wasn’t sure he can handle is spending another spring and summer of practice and training camp watching his children play T-ball and soccer on FaceTime.The lure of being with his family overcame Williams’ passion for football in announcing Friday that he’s retiring after Buffalo (5-10) closes its season hosting Miami (7-8) on Sunday.“I love team. I love competing. But at the end of the day, it comes down to what are the most important things,” the 35-year-old Williams said following practice.That still didn’t make it easy for Buffalo’s longest-active tenured player who established himself as a respected leader and fan favorite for his lunch-bucket approach in a blue-collar community.“I don’t know if there’s ever a good time, whether it’s now or whether it’s two years from now. It’s going to hurt walking away,” Williams said. “There’s going to be a void in my life because of how much this game and how much this organization and what this team has meant to me.”And yet, Williams is pleased to be leaving football on his own terms in being healthy and showing no signs of a drop in production.What he’s most proud of is having spent his entire career in Buffalo, while also proving wrong the skeptics who questioned whether the 6-foot-1, 300-pound player was too small to succeed at the NFL level after the Bills selected him in the fifth round of the draft out of LSU.“I think the hardest thing for me is going to be … walking away from something that they said I couldn’t do,” Williams said. “I think the main thing was that I never cheated anybody a day, whether it’s our fans, our owners, my teammates. I literally gave all I had every day. And I’m comfortable knowing that and moving forward here.”Williams was a second-team All-Pro in 2010 and earned five Pro Bowl selections. He’s a Pro Bowl alternate this year, and welcomed the chance to compete if the opportunity came up to represent the Bills for one last time.Williams made up his mind to retire upon informing his wife a few weeks ago, before breaking the news to coach Sean McDermott on Monday.McDermott joked by calling the news “the worst Christmas present a man could get.”The coach then went on to praise Williams for what he’s meant to the Bills both on and off the field.“We need more Kyle Williams, although they’re hard to find
Devin Singletary NFL Draft ,” McDermott said. “You can’t replace a guy like Kyle. They come around once in a career.”Williams became McDermott’s voice in the locker room, and served as mentor for the numerous youngsters Buffalo added this offseason.Williams’ influence even extended to offensive players, such as running back LeSean McCoy, who referred to the defensive tackle as one of the better leaders he’s ever been around.“Solid career. He’s a guy that likes to go against the odds. I like him, man, I like his hard work,” McCoy said. “When I came here, I realized that type of play and attitude is what Buffalo is all about.”Even opponents paid tribute with the New England Patriots posting a note on their Twitter account, which read, “Nothing but respect.” The post was accompanied by a video of Williams and Patriots quarterback Tom Brady shaking hands following New England’s 25-6 victory at Buffalo on Oct. 29.Williams’ retirement creates a large void for the Bills both on and off the field. And it comes 11 months after Buffalo lost another influential leader, when center Eric Wood was forced to retire after sustaining a career-ending neck injury.Out of 954 defensive plays through 15 games, Williams is second among Bills defensive linemen in playing 621 of them — four fewer than pass-rusher Jerry Hughes. Williams has five sacks, his most since having 5 1/2 in 2014, and has already surpassed last year’s totals with 13 quarterback hits and five tackles for losses.Overall, he has 48 1/2 sacks
Devin Singletary Buffalo Bills Jersey , 139 quarterback hits and 92 tackles for losses in 182 career games.He also scored on a one-yard touchdown run in a 22-16 win at Miami in last season’s finale, which, combined with Baltimore’s loss to Cincinnati, led to Buffalo clinching a playoff berth and ending a 17-year postseason drought.Williams’ favorite moment was following being with his teammates in the locker room following the win, and watching Cincinnati eliminate Baltimore from contention on Andy Dalton’s 49-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Boyd on fourth down in the final minute.What made the moment extra special was how Williams enjoying the moment with his two sons.“They were pretty young, but I hope they’ll remember that forever, because their dad won’t forget,” he said.Williams has no firm plans on what he’ll do next, while saying he’s had a discussion with McDermott about a possible role with the team.Though the Bills have taken a step back this season, Williams believes the team is headed in the right direction under McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane, and their vision to build through youth.“That’s what makes it tough moving away, because of the direction we’re moving, the young guys we have,” Williams said. “Just know that I’m always going to be a Buffalo Bill, and the main thing for those guys is they’ve got all my support.” The Buffalo Bills off-season is in full swing with two coaching hires this week. But still
Color Rush Devin Singletary Jersey , questions abound around the team and we do our best to answer them.In this week’s episode, we answer questions about the supposed bias of Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott, who seems to hire and add a lot of former Carolina Panthers. We also tackle his newest hires on special teams and the o-line, discuss some possible free agent splashes Buffalo could make, and address the stadium survey sent out by the team this week.As always, you can call us at 716-508-0405 to leave your question about the Bills. That line is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so call any time! You can tweet us @RumblingsQandA, email us at
BuffaloRumblings@SBNation.com, or leave a comment in the comments section below.Featured Question Of The Week“Why are the Bills always going after former Panthers?”The Bills reportedly hired former Carolina Panthers assistant special teams coach Heath Farwell on Tuesday, drudging up Bills fans making the same jokes about Buffalo going after former Panthers. The question is certainly valid, but after a little investigating, it’s overblown.Farwell never coached with McDermott in Carolina. He was hired after McDermott came to Buffalo. That certainly doesn’t mean that McDermott didn’t speak with Chase Blackburn, who was a player and coach while McDermott was in Carolina. It’s almost a certainty that he did. But does that matter?When you’re doing work on your home, do you go out and hire someone based on a general reputation or do you ask trusted family and friends who they might recommend? A lot of times those are the same people
Youth Devin Singletary Jersey , but leaning on folks you know is pretty common.The Bills certainly have their fair share of former Panthers, but I don’t think it’s to the detriment of the team. After a sub-par season, Buffalo let Mike Tolbert leave in free agency. They cut Kelvin Benjamin. They didn’t re-sign Leonard Johnson. They cut Kaelin Clay. The list of former Bills who are also former Panthers is pretty high, so while they might have an “in,” that doesn’t mean they have carte blanche. They still have to perform once they get here in order to stay.Look no further than offensive line coach Juan Castillo. He’s known and worked with McDermott for nearly 20 years. He was fired a couple days after the season because his squad under-performed in the eyes of the head coach. Rick Dennison had no experience with McDermott before. It’s not like it’s a prerequisite for it to be a good or bad hire. New o-line coach Bobby Johnson has no direct ties to McDermott or offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. Does that make him a better or worse coach? No.It’s not something I’m worried about and will continue to be down my list of concerns if the team goes and signs Devin Funchess or any other former Panthers this off-season.Helpful linksBills fire offensive line coach Juan CastilloBills interested in interviewing Sean Kugler for o-line coachBills interview Joe Philbin, possibly for o-line positionKugler signs in Arizona, what next for Bills o-line?Buffalo hiring OL coach Bobby JohnsonGM Brandon Beane discusses “judicious” free agency planBuffalo hiring Heath Farwell to coach special teamsBills send survey to fans asking for stadium inputLeSean McCoy rooting for adding offensive linemenOnce again, you can call and leave your question at 716-508-0405 any time day or night, tweet us @RumblingsQandA, email us at
BuffaloRumblings@SBNation.com, or leave a comment in the comments section below. Shows drop on Wednesday every week during the offseason.Subscribe now!Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Google Play | Spotify | Podbean | iHeartRadio | TuneIn | Art 19