Free-agent running back DeAngelo Williams is probably not coming back to the Steelers after serving as Le'Veon Bell's backup the past two seasons. The acquisitions of free agent Knile Davis and third-round pick James Conner this offseason have left the backfield a little crowded even without him.
There are four teams, however, that Williams absolutely will not join, or so he told ESPN's Adam Schefter on a podcast Wednesday.
One is the Cleveland Browns, who Williams chided for not having a history of winning.
The second is the Jacksonville Jaguars, of whom he said: "I can't think of anything positive about that organization outside of the fact that they have pools in the stadium."
The third is the Carolina Panthers, the team Williams broke into the league with in 2006. He isn't happy with how things ended there in 2015, when he was cut after rushing for 6,846 yards in nine seasons.
"I had no problems with getting fired, but there are things that went on there that I didn't like _ and I still don't like to this day," Williams said. " ... There's no point in me going back there. You're an ex for a reason, right? You don't go back to exes, and that's just where I'm at there."
But Williams saved his harshest words for the Dallas Cowboys, the fourth team he won't play for. Williams, who grew up a San Francisco 49ers fan in the 1980s, doesn't have much use for fans of "America's team" in particular.
"The Cowboys, they win. They just don't ever show up during the playoffs. They always disappear in the playoffs," Williams said. "I've got a great depiction of the Cowboys' fan base. During the regular season last year, they were on cloud nine. You couldn't tell them anything because they were going to win the 'ship _ that's all they said. Fans just got extremely super annoying. Then, the minute they lose, they either got cheated, somebody was hurt _ the excuses start flowing. It's just amazing to me. That fan base just in general can't handle defeat."
Williams, who will be 34 this season, added that he's still open to rejoining the Steelers after rushing for 1,250 yards and 15 touchdowns in two seasons behind Bell. If that's going to happen, though, it would likely be precipitated by an injury to a player already under contract.
