Longtime Steelers linebacker Vince Williams announces his retirement from the NFL

Just before training camp began, veteran linebacker Vince Williams announced his retirement from the NFL after eight seasons in the league, the Steelers announced on Wednesday. Williams has spent his entire career in Pittsburgh and was the team’s second-oldest defensive starter (Cam Heyward being the oldest) on the team and the third-oldest Steeler (Heyward, Ben Roethlisberger). The team were made aware of their decision to withdraw from the game on Wednesday and the organization praised the efforts the franchise had put into its tenure.

“Vince Williams informed us today that he will be retiring from football,” Steelers general manager and vice-president Kevin Colbert said in a statement released by the team. “We respect his decision and would like to thank him for the time he spent with us as he has always shown great character and leadership in addition to his contributions on the pitch. We wish Vince and his family all the best. ”

Williams was drafted in the sixth round (206th overall) by the Steelers in 2013 and has become a key part of their defense. In 14 games played (all starts) last season, the 31-year-old totaled 70 tackles (third best of his career), a career-high 14 tackles for a loss (ranked fifth in the NFL year). last) and three bags. . For his career (121 regular season games), Williams finished with 479 tackles, 20.5 sacks and 50 tackles for a loss.

As for who could replace Williams in the Pittsburgh defense, that could very well turn into a side-battle consisting of Robert Spillane, Marcus Allen and rookie Buddy Johnson. The team recently signed a one-year contract with linebacker Melvin Ingram, but he mostly plays away, which means he probably won’t take into account filling Williams’ shoes.