The Steelers announced Wednesday afternoon that linebacker Vince Williams retired, one day before the Steelers open their training camp.
Williams, 31, spent his entire eight-year career with the Steelers, starting 69 of the 121 games he dressed. Williams finished his career with 479 tackles, 20 ½ sacks and two interceptions, one of which he returned for his only career touchdown.
The decision ends an odd five months for Williams, who was released in March and re-signed on a smaller contract one month later.
The pinned tweet on Williams’ Twitter account is: “I lost 3 million dollars, but I found Jesus and tbh Im perfectly fine with that.”
The loss of $3 million was in reference to the pay cut he took to return to the Steelers in April.
“Vince Williams notified us today that he will retire from the game of football,” Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert said in a statement. “We respect his decision and want to thank him for his time with us as he consistently showed great character and leadership in addition to his contributions on the field. We wish Vince and his family the best.”
In 14 games last season, all starts, Williams had 70 tackles and three sacks.
It was unclear if Williams would have remained a starter in 2021. Devin Bush is returning from a season-ending knee injury and Robert Spillane established himself last season when he played in place of Bush.
It also might explain why the Steelers spent $4 million to sign veteran linebacker Melvin Ingram on Tuesday. Ingram is primarily an outside linebacker, but he can also play in the middle. His ability to rush from the inside will be just what the Steelers need without Williams, who was among the best pass-rushing inside linebackers in the league the past few seasons.
