Eagles Release Bernard Williams 30 Years Since He Last Played

After spending over thirty years on the NFL’s banned list, offensive tackle Bernard Williams, a former first-round selection, was released by the Eagles on Thursday.

Eagles Release Bernard Williams 30 Years Since He Last Played

Williams, the No. 14 pick in the 1994 NFL Draft, hasn’t participated in a game since the Eagles’ 33-30 loss to the Bengals on Christmas Eve of that same year.

In 1994, Bernard Williams, a left tackle, started every 16 games and was selected to the league’s All-Rookie team.

But in July of that year, Williams tested positive for marijuana.

He tested positive once more three months later, and this time he was suspended for the whole 1995 season.

According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Williams was in limbo on the Eagles roster until Thursday because he never submitted his application for reinstatement with the NFL, despite the fact that he would have been eligible to participate in the 1996 season.

Christmas Eve in Cincinnati would be the final NFL game for the former 14th overall pick of that season.

Williams said that he would rather “just get high” and that he was juggling personal and family matters when asked why he had never attempted to return to the NFL. Thankfully, he claims that he is doing much better these days.

For all these years, the former All-Rookie was technically still a part of the Eagles squad since they never formally discharged him.

Luckily for the team, though, things did not become like Bobby Bonilla’s, where they had to pay him for years. Williams was suspended in 1995 and hasn’t been paid again since he doesn’t have a contract.

Williams said the Eagles phoned him earlier this week to let him know he wasn’t an NFL player. Williams was employed in his new position, an Amazon delivery driver.

Williams continued to play football in the Arena League, XFL, and Canadian Football League even though he never submitted an application to be reinstated in the NFL.

Williams played with the Toronto Argonauts (2003–06) and the British Columbia Lions (2000–06) in the CFL. Between his CFL seasons, he played for the Detroit Fury of the Arena League in 2001 and 2002, as well as the Memphis Maniax of the XFL in 2001.

Williams, who left the NFL after a brief stint, claims to have “found peace with it early” and finds encouragement in the way sportsmen now days handle their mental health.

“I applaud the young athletes like Simone Biles who are taking time off to deal with their personal issues and mental health. If I was given that opportunity back then, I think I would’ve played a lot longer than I did.”

 

 

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