Mario Williams: Texans Forced Me Into Free Agency
By Josh Hill
Arguably one of the biggest names to change teams this last offseason in the NFL was ex-Texans defensive end Mario Williams. The former No. 1 overall pick was finally coming into his own on a consistent basis and was looking like an anchor on what has proven to be one of the best defenses in all of football.
But in a flash he was out of Houston and headed to Buffalo where he’s spent most of this season injured, irritated and frustrated. All of this, according to the man himself, stems from the fact he feels the Texans forced him out of Houston and gave him no choice when it came to free agency.
“I didn’t want to enter free agency in the first place, but it was a one-way door given to me by the G.M.to leave Houston,” Williams said to FOX 26 Sports. “I want the fans there to know entering free agency was not my decision.”
Williams says that if fans boo him on Sunday when the Bills travel to Houston, he’s not going to blame them as his exit from Houston was as confusing and heartbreaking to him as it was to them. According to Williams, the break-up was abrupt and completely out of the blue which has made him look like the bad guy in all this. He protests that he’s not.
“The way things ended, I definitely feel like it was kind of a rough and all-of-the-sudden goodbye,” Williams said. “There’s some things that I’m definitely uneasy about, the final decision making that happened there. It was just the way it was handled.”
One interesting aspect in all this, is how Antonio Smith has been stoking coals so to speak, when it comes to feelings about Williams in Houston. Although the two are friends, Smith said to the Houston Chronicle that he plans on “riling up” the former Texan on Sunday. This sort of thing doesn’t bother Williams, as he says it comes with the territory.
“The one thing that I enjoy and that I look forward to is people adding fuel to the fire. So I welcome all the newcomers as far as jumping on the bandwagon.”
One thing is for certain, Williams got a fat check from the Bills, and the Texans defense hasn’t stumbled one bit without his services.