He played college football for the Syracuse Orange, and was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL draft.

[7] On November 3, 2009, Williams quit the team after he was involved in a car accident with teammates Antwon Bailey, Andrew Tiller and Torrey Ball.

[15] On October 31, 2010, Williams recorded his first career 100-yard receiving game at Arizona, finishing with 105 yards on four receptions and a touchdown.

[21] On July 24, 2013, it was reported that Williams had agreed to a new six-year, $40.25 million contract with the Buccaneers that would have kept him in Tampa Bay through the 2018 season.

[22] On October 28, the Bucs announced that they had placed Williams on injured reserve, ending his season and leaving the Buccaneers without one of their starting wideouts the rest of the way.

[23] On April 4, 2014, Williams was traded to the Buffalo Bills, his hometown team, for a 6th-round draft pick, just one season after signing a contract extension with the Buccaneers.

[24] During a week 4 game against the Houston Texans, Williams caught what would become his lone touchdown with the Bills, an 80-yard pass from EJ Manuel.

[35] Though he initially returned home, he was admitted to St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa the following day, with acute respiratory failure, cardiac arrest, and sepsis diagnosed at the time of his admission.

[37][33][38] While Williams initially appeared to be faring better after surgery, his condition declined rapidly and he was placed in a medically induced coma.