Did you know Bernard Williams was still on the Philadelphia Eagles’ roster, 29 years after his last NFL game? Apparently, Williams didn’t know either. We’re not sure anyone did until earlier this week.
But yes, Williams, who’s now 51 years old, actually hit the official NFL transaction wire on November 16, when the Eagles waived him from the league’s reserve/suspended list.
Amazingly, as mentioned, Williams had no idea he was technically still employed by the Eagles. After all, he’s played plenty of football games for other teams and other leagues since.
“I was actually at work when a kid I coached in high school, Ventell Boulware — a scout for the Packers — called asked when was the last time I did anything with the NFL. I told him I had just applied for some benefits recently, and he said, ‘Well your name just came across the [transaction] wire.’ I’m like, ‘For what?’ And he was like, ‘The Eagles released you.’ I had some kind of idea, but they never released me. And I always wondered what happened with that. When I went to Canada, the Eagles kept my rights through all of that. They never released my rights. But I had no idea that I was still on the roster 29 years later.”
Recently released former Philadelphia Eagles player Bernard Williams
So what happened with Williams? How didn’t he or the Eagles know he was still on the roster?
After becoming the 14th overall pick in the 1994 NFL Draft, Williams enjoyed a strong rookie season, where he started all 16 games at left tackle and even made the All-Pro team. But he’d then test positive for marijuana and get suspended for the first six games of his second season.
Williams later returned to practice with the Eagles, but he was never activated to the roster, and actually was suspended for the rest of the season after a second violation of the NFL’s substance abuse policy at the time.
A year later, Williams was eligible to apply for reinstatement, but he never did, and just like that, his NFL career was over at the age of 24.
But he didn’t give up playing football, not entirely. He’d later join the CFL in 2000, the XFL in 2001, and Arena Football from 2001-02. Williams wrapped up his football career with the Toronto Argonauts in 2006 after four seasons with the team, including two years as an All-Star.
Despite his initial awkward exit, Williams has remained a fan of the Eagles all along. But now we’re curious what would have happened had he shown up in pads with his cleats and a helmet when the Eagles experienced a shortage of offensive line depth. Then again, maybe that’s why general manager Howie Roseman has worked so feverishly to establish one of the best offensive lines in the NFL.
Jokes aside, what happened with Williams is rare. After his career wrapped up, Williams spent some time as a high school football coach, where he even got to mentor his nephew, former All-Pro NFL safety Eric Berry.
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