The Las Vegas Raiders backfield remains one of the key storylines of the summer with Josh Jacobs, the league's leading rusher from a year ago, continuing his holdout due to a contract dispute. As the team gears up for the start of the preseason, they've decided to add some depth to their running back room by signing veteran Damien Williams to a deal, according to his agent Ian Greengross. The specific terms of Williams' deal were not immediately disclosed.
Williams joins a Raiders backfield that currently consists of Zamir White, Ameer Abdullah, Brandon Bolden, Brittain Brown and Sincere. McCormick.
The 31-year-old initially entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma and signed with the Dolphins. He spent his first four years in the league with Miami and serves in more of a complementary role as a pass catcher out of the backfield. In 2018, Williams signed with the Chiefs and would enjoy the most productive years of his career, including a 2019 campaign where he totaled a career-best 711 yards from scrimmage to go along with seven touchdowns.
That year, Williams also helped Kansas City win Super Bowl LIV with a dominating performance over the 49ers. In that game, he rushed for 104 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries while also catching four of his eight targets for 29 yards and another score. In fact, Williams' receiving touchdown from Patrick Mahomes came at the 2:50 mark of the fourth quarter to give K.C. the lead and his 38-yard rushing score with less than 90 seconds to play clinched the victory.
More recently, Williams has bounced around the NFL. He spent the 2021 season with the Chicago Bears and then played just one game for the Falcons last year before going down with a rib injury. He was released by Atlanta in mid-December.
