Bears sign RB Damien Williams, per his agent

The last time the NFL saw Damien Williams, he was rushing for 104 yards and scoring a pair of touchdowns in Super Bowl LIV, helping to vault the Kansas City Chiefs to a championship.

Williams sat out the 2020 season because of COVID-19 concerns. His concern for his mother, who has cancer, was a contributing factor.

Now, Williams has found a new home with the Bears, according to multiple reports and a Twitter post from his agent Ian Greengross.

The Chiefs released Williams earlier this month. Williams is signing a one-year contract with the Bears, according to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Williams is a versatile weapon with a familiarity for Bears head coach Matt Nagy’s offense. Nagy, of course, came to Chicago from the Chiefs and runs a similar offense as Kansas City. Williams also played under Bears offensive coordinator Bill Lazor when Lazor served in the same role for the Miami Dolphins in 2014 and 2015.

After four seasons in Miami from 2014 to 2017, Williams took on a bigger role with the Chiefs in 2018 and 2019. In 2019, he rushed for 498 yards and five touchdowns on 111 carries. He also caught 30 passes for 213 yards and two touchdowns.

He was was a big contributor int he playoffs. In Super Bowl LIV, the Chiefs handed off to Williams 17 times for 104 yards and a touchdown. He also caught four passes for 29 yards and a touchdown. His late-game 38-yard touchdown run sealed the win for Kansas City.

Williams, 28, measures in at 5-foot-11, 224 pounds. He will be an interesting weapon for the Bears beside running backs David Montgomery and Tarik Cohen. The Bears struggled to find help for Montgomery after Cohen suffered a season-ending ACL tear in Week 3 last season.

The Bears used Cordarrelle Patterson as a running back, but never found much success with him at the position. Patterson now is a free agent. Mid-season acquisition Lamar Miller was an interesting addition, but barely saw the field in 2020. He is gone now, too. The Bears have running backs Ryan Nall and Artavis Pierce under contract in 2021.

If Patterson’s time with Chicago is over, Williams has kick return experience from early in his career but hasn’t fielded a kickoff since 2017. He never has returned a punt.

Even so, he is a proven weapon for a Bears team in need of weapons.