Pre-draft Williams was ranked as the 92nd best cornerback prospect in the
2014 NFL draft by DraftScout.com. He went undrafted, but received offers for a tryout from the
Cleveland Browns and
Pittsburgh Steelers. Williams declined the offer to attend the Steelers' rookie camp in order to reunite with Browns' defensive backs coach
Jeff Hafley, who was also his position coach at Pitt and recruited him out of high school.
Cleveland Browns 2014 On May 20, 2014, the Browns signed Williams to a two-year, $930,000 contract. Throughout
training camp, Williams competed for a roster spot as a backup cornerback and
special teams contributor against
Isaiah Trufant,
Aaron Berry,
Pierre Desir,
Leon McFadden,
T. J. Heath,
Robert Nelson, and
Royce Adams. He also competed to be the backup
nickelback against Isaiah Trufant. He made his professional regular season debut in the Browns' season-opener at the Steelers and made three combined tackles in their 30–27 loss. Williams was inserted at nickelback after rookie Justin Gilbert had issues in pass coverage and was replaced on the outside by nickelback Buster Skrine. He made his first career tackle on running back
Le'Veon Bell after a nine-yard reception in the third quarter. On October 5, 2014, Williams collected a season-high six solo tackles, deflected a pass, and made his first career
sack during a 29–28 victory at the
Tennessee Titans in Week 5. Williams sacked backup quarterback
Charlie Whitehurst for a six-yard loss in the third quarter. The following week, Williams earned his first career start, as a nickelback, and made a solo tackle and two
pass deflections before exiting in the second quarter of the Browns' 31–10 win against the Steelers in Week 6 due to a
concussion. He was inactive for the Browns' Week 7 loss at the
Jacksonville Jaguars due to concussion symptoms. He completed his rookie season in 2014 with 38 combined tackles (29 solo), eight pass deflections, and a sack in 13 games and four starts.
2015 Williams entered training camp slated as the first-team nickelback after Buster Skrine departed for the
New York Jets in free agency. Pettine named Williams the third cornerback on the depth chart to start the season, behind Joe Haden and
Tramon Williams. He was also officially named the first-team nickelback. In Week 2, he made three solo tackles and sacked quarterback
Marcus Mariota during a 28–14 victory against the Titans. He was sidelined for two games (Weeks 4–5) after sustaining a concussion. On August 18, 2016, the Browns suspended Williams for two weeks and fined him for conduct detrimental to the team. The Browns argued the severity of Williams injury as he continued to sit out practice and received a second opinion. Williams received a second opinion from an independent specialist at the
Cleveland Clinic and was told he would have to undergo surgery to remove bone spurs. Williams stated he planned to appeal the suspension and was also reportedly contemplating retirement. On August 29, 2016, the Browns waived Williams.
Chicago Bears On August 30, 2016, the Chicago Bears claimed Williams off of waivers. However, the contract was voided after Williams failed a physical due to his ankle injury. On November 3, 2016, Williams underwent surgery to remove the bone spurs and was expected to recover within 12 weeks. After being medically cleared following surgery, Williams received contract offers from multiple teams, including the Jets,
Minnesota Vikings,
Detroit Lions, and 49ers.
San Francisco 49ers On February 21, 2017, the
San Francisco 49ers signed Williams to a one-year, $615,000 contract with a
signing bonus of $75,000. He reunited with 49ers' defensive backs coach Jeff Hafley, who was his position coach with the Cleveland Browns and at Pitt. Throughout training camp, Williams competed against
Will Redmond and
Keith Reaser for the role as the first-team nickelback. Head coach
Kyle Shanahan named Williams the first-team nickelback to start the regular season. On September 29, 2017, the San Francisco 49ers signed Williams to a three-year, $8.85 million contract extension with $4.25 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $3 million. On October 1, 2017, Williams collected a season-high eight combined tackles during an 18–15 loss at the
Arizona Cardinals in Week 4. Williams was inactive for two games (Weeks 8–9) after injuring his quadriceps. On December 24, 2017, Williams recorded five combined tackles, deflected two passes, and made his first career interception during a 44–33 victory against the Jaguars in Week 16. He intercepted a pass by quarterback
Blake Bortles and returned it for a 27-yard gain. He finished the 2017 season with a career-high 54 combined tackles (42 solo), five pass deflections, two forced fumbles, an interception, and a sack in 14 games and five starts. On October 10, 2020, Williams was placed on
injured reserve with a knee injury. He was activated on October 31. He was suspended two games by the NFL for violating the league's
performance-enhancing drugs policy on November 24, 2020, but the suspension was rescinded the next day after testing issues were discovered. On March 26, 2021, Williams re-signed with 49ers.
Denver Broncos On March 23, 2022, Williams signed a two-year contract with the
Denver Broncos. On November 14, it was announced that Williams would undergo
arthroscopic surgery to clean out "loose bodies" scar tissue that had developed from a previous surgery; the fragments had been causing his knee to lock up, and the recovery timetable was set at four weeks. On August 31, 2023, Williams was placed on injured reserve, and would go on to miss the entire
2023 season. During the following offseason, the Broncos opted not to re-sign him. On January 14, 2025, Williams' agent announced his intention to retire from the NFL.
Statistics ==References==