Retired NFL wide receiver Mike Williams has died after suffering what his family described as a “massive” head injury at a construction site last week. He was 36 years old. Williams’ father, Wendell Muhammad, detailed the tragic accident in a GoFundMe post earlier this week. Spectrum News 1 in Buffalo reported Williams died Tuesday night.
Muhammad said Williams, who played for his hometown Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, “recently had a major accident at work” in the Tampa Bay, Fla., area when “a steel beam fell on his head causing a major head injury.”
Mike Williams.
Michael DeHoog/Sports Images/Getty
The former NFL wide receiver was rushed to a nearby hospital in Tampa where Williams “never regained consciousness,” according to his family.
“As a result of this accident, there was swelling on his brain and swelling on his spinal cord, which was ruptured,” his father said. “These injuries resulted in complete paralysis of his right arm as well as his lower body from the waist down.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories“As you can probably imagine, this is painful for me and freaking me out,” Muhammad wrote after detailing the crash that killed his son.
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Mike Williams.
Tom Szczerbowski/Getty
Williams was born in Buffalo, New York, and succeeded as a high school football player at Riverside Institute of Technology. He went on to play at nearby Syracuse before being drafted by the Buccaneers in 2010. The wide receiver played five full seasons in the NFL before retiring in 2016 with the Kansas City Chiefs. In his career, he collected 26 touchdowns and 3,089 receiving yards.
“It breaks my heart to see the news about my former teammate and brother of the Buccaneers’ 2010 draft class, Mike Williams,” said former Tampa Bay teammate Gerald McCoy chirped late Tuesday night. “Always great energy brought joy and laughter to the dressing room and a great player!! Prayers and blessings to his family!!”
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