DeAngelo Williams still wants to play football at age 34, but the veteran running back created a buzz recently when he said there are four teams he would refuse to sign with even if they expressed interest.
On Adam Schefter’s “Know Them From Adam” podcast earlier this month, Williams said there is absolutely no chance he would play for four of the 32 teams in the NFL. In a return appearance on the podcast Tuesday, Williams was kind enough to reveal which four teams he was referring to and state his reasons why.
The first is the Cleveland Browns.
“Mainly because they don’t have a history of winning,” Williams explained. “I don’t think they’ve ever had a winning season in my lifetime. I’m not really sure about all the championships they won before the Super Bowl was a Super Bowl, but in my lifetime I haven’t seen them have a winning season.”
Williams then mentioned his former team, the Carolina Panthers.
“The way they handled my exit — I had no problem getting fired, but there were things that went on there that I didn’t like and still don’t like to this day,” he said. “However, they have rectified the situation in terms of other players. If they were to go through something like I went through when I was there, they have fixed that issue with players.”
The third team Williams has no interest in playing for is the Jacksonville Jaguars, and his justification sounded familiar.
“My fondest memory of the Jacksonville Jaguars is Fred Taylor. He, in my opinion, is a future Hall of Famer, but I can’t think of anything else positive about that particular organization outside of the fact that they have pools in the stadium,” Williams said.
Williams acknowledged that the fourth and final team might come as a shock. Because he grew up loving the San Francisco 49ers, he says he could never play for the Dallas Cowboys.
“I grew up and was raised as a 49ers fan. My fandom for the team I was raised (supporting) will not allow me to go to the Cowboys,” Williams explained. “I’m an 80s baby — I was born in 1983. The 49ers ruled then. The Cowboys somewhat did something in the 90s. I even refuse to give them that as a Niners fan.”
Williams went on to criticize the Cowboys for always choking in the playoffs. He also had some harsh words for the fans and mocked them for getting so excited about the team’s incredible regular season in 2016.
Perhaps the biggest shock was that Williams said he would be willing to play for the New England Patriots. While he applauded the franchise for always finding ways to win, the comments he made about Bill Belichick last year made it seem like Williams would never play for The Hoodie. A lot can change when you’re looking for work.
