The Detroit Lions added Nick Williams this offseason to their needy defensive line, and the lineman will be adding an impressive element to their whole team and locker room when play gets going in 2020.
This week, Williams was named the winner of the Chicago Bears‘ Brian Piccolo Award. This award is traditionally given to a rookie and a veteran each season who best exemplifies courage, loyalty, teamwork, dedication and humor of the late Piccolo, the former Bears running back.
Williams took to Twitter to celebrate the accomplishment and also congratulate Bears runner David Montgomery, the rookie recipient from 2019.
Truly honored to receive The Brian Piccolo Award from the @ChicagoBears organization and my former teammates. Congrats to @MontgomerDavid on winning as well 🤟🏾 #HatGang
Obviously, the award only proves the caliber of man the Lions added to the team this offseason when they signed Williams. To this end, the team should be thrilled they were able to sign Williams this offseason and add his skill and personality to the squad.
Nick Williams Ready to Push for More With Lions
Recently, Williams talked with Detroit reporters and outlined what he hopes to accomplish with his new team. As he said, he isn’t about to sit back coming off a spectacular season. In fact, his goal is to only improve and get better as he explained in an interview with DetroitLions.com and the media recently.
“With this league, I’ve seen every face of this league. So I’m never comfortable. I think once you get comfortable, you don’t have anything to strive for,” Williams said. “I’m not the top defensive tackle but that’s something I want to strive for. I want to bring good football to the Detroit defensive line. Those are things I want to strive for. I’m never going to find comfort. You can’t find comfort in this league. You have to have something to always work towards and work for.”
As Williams went on to say, the reason for his success with the Bears had more to do with finally being given a chance last season, something he had been grinding for.
“Just last year, I hit a stride where I was getting the opportunity and I was capitalizing on it. I’m talking about real opportunity, real snaps, real reps. I was able to perform the way I did. People are like why haven’t we seen this yet? Well, sometimes that’s the NFL. Sometimes you get lost in the shuffle. You get lost behind guys who play behind big name guys their whole career. You don’t get the reps, the opportunity. Once it’s available to you, you’re either going to succeed or you’re not. I was able to get the opportunity last year, I succeeded and now I want to continue to succeed.”
That motivation will help Williams as he joins the Lions. It’s certainly nice to see him staying motivated.
Nick Williams Statistics
Williams has bounced around the NFL a bit. He started his career as a seventh round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2013, and by 2014, had joined the Kansas City Chiefs. After spending a few seasons there, Williams departed for the Miami Dolphins, and spent a season there before signing with the Chicago Bears in 2018. While with Chicago, Williams had a solid 2019 season, with 6 sacks and 42 tackles.
Known for his ability to be a pass rush disruptor, Williams might not offer the Lions much against the run, but he can get after the pocket as his numbers in 2019 prove. After putting up minuscule stats everywhere else, Williams came into his own with the Bears last season, setting career highs in every category. The hope is with more starting time, the 30 year old can continue to play a big role and come into his own in the league with Detroit.
Next season, the expectation would be for Williams to play a bigger role in Detroit and build upon his solid stats from 2019. Clearly, by the comments, he plans on doing just that and seizing the chance he’s been given.
The Lions are obviously adding a great member to the team that has just added an important award into his trophy case.
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New Lions Lineman Revealed as Winner of Top Bears Award