Marcus Williams (cornerback)

Marcus Jeffrey Williams (born March 24, 1991) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2014. He played college football for the North Dakota State Bison. He was also a member of the New York Jets, Arizona Cardinals, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Chicago Bears.

Williams stood out at Hopkins High School in Minnetonka, MN in both basketball and football, and decided on playing football at North Dakota State University since he didn't receive a Big 10 offer for basketball.

Williams set the NDSU school record with 21 career interceptions. Williams also set the FCS D1-AA record with career interception returns for touchdown with 7. He had 8 defensive touchdowns in total.

Williams received Associated Press First-team All-American honors in 2011, 2012, and 2013, as well as Walter Camp FCS All American Team honors in 2011, 2012, & 2013.

On May 16, 2014, Williams signed with the Houston Texans. On August 30, 2014, Williams was released by the Texans.

Williams was signed to the New York Jets' practice squad on September 26, 2014. He was promoted to the active roster on October 28, 2014. In his debut against the Kansas City Chiefs on November 2, 2014, he played for the majority of the game. He had a team-high seven tackles and one pass defensed, earning the praise of head coach Rex Ryan for his performance. In 8 games of his rookie season in 2014, Williams made 37 tackles, an interception, and seven passes defended.

On October 4, 2015, he made a game clinching interception against the Miami Dolphins in a game in London. One month later, against the Jacksonville Jaguars, he got two interceptions, a career-high, one of which clinched the game. On December 19, 2015, he made the game winning interception against the Dallas Cowboys, his third game winning interception of the season. Despite being a substitute cornerback, Williams would appear in 13 games making 21 tackles, six interceptions, 1.5 sacks, ten passes defended, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.

On March 9, 2017, the Jets placed a second-round tender on Williams. On October 9, 2017, Williams was released by the Jets.

On October 10, 2017, Williams was claimed off waivers by the Texans. On October 30, 2017, he recorded his first interception of the season, picking off the Seattle Seahawks' Russell Wilson in the fourth quarter. He finished his second stint with the Texans with twelve tackles and an interception in ten games.

On April 19, 2018, Williams signed a one-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals. On May 21, 2018, Williams was released by the Cardinals.

On August 11, 2018, Williams signed with the New Orleans Saints. He was released on September 1, 2018.

On September 11, 2018, Williams signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was placed on injured reserve on October 13, 2018, with a hamstring injury. He was released on October 22, 2018.

On December 12, 2018, Williams was signed by the Chicago Bears.

• North Dakota State Bison bio