When the Buffalo Bills released Karlos WIlliams ten months ago, fans were upset the team was getting rid of a great talent. That was short-sighted, apparently, as Williams received a suspension of at least a year, per ESPN’s Field Yates. It is Williams’ third suspension.
Williams was drafted by the Bills in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft and had an eye-popping season. While he only rushed for 517 yards in a backup role, he tied an NFL record with six consecutive games with a rushing touchdown. It went downhill quickly after that. He showed up to camp 20 pounds overweight in 2016, then was suspended four games for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy, before being cut last August.
Following his release, Williams ended up on the Steelers practice squad but in November was handed a ten-game suspension. The league lifted the suspension at the end of the season and he signed a futures contract in Pittsburgh but was released a month later.
With this suspension, Williams’ NFL career will be effectively over. Even though he is only 24 years old, it will have been two seasons off NFL rosters. According to the guidelines presented in 2014, he has now violated the NFL’s rules on substance abuse six times in just two years.