Kyle Williams Postgame Good-bye

BUFFALO BILLS DEFENSIVE TACKLE KYLE WILLIAMS

Q: What do you think, Kyle, about the lengths that Coach went to today to kind of give you a proper sendoff, especially with that curtain call at the end?

A: Well, [are] you talking about the catch still?

Q: Well, the catch and then followed by turning it over on downs to put the defense on the field and calling a timeout to get you out there.

A: Yeah, the whole thing has been a little out of my comfort zone, but we talked last night. I think I’ll look back [on] it and enjoy what he essentially made me do [laughs]. It was a great day, my family enjoyed it, my kids enjoyed it. We all get to enjoy it because we won, so it was a fun day.

Q: Were you thinking of turning up on that catch there?

A: I’m so thankful that guy showed up. Four yards is a long way when you’ve got the ball in your hands. He actually faked me out. He was looking at me and I thought he was going to try and tackle me high and he slipped down and snagged my foot. I’ve never been more thankful to get tackled in my life.

Q: Kyle, what are your emotions like right now?

A: I’m good right now. There’s been a lot of ups and downs and tears and things coming through the week coming to this decision. I’m at peace, I’m good with it now. Among the other things that Sean [McDermott] did was bring my family down on the field for that, and I didn’t know that was going to happen. I was a wreck during that, but I’m maintaining at the moment.

Q: What prompted the lap around the stadium? Was that kind of spontaneous?

A: No, that was spontaneous. I was giving some people some [high] fives on the way in and thanking them and it really got to me that I can’t do a ten-yard section and not hit the whole place. I made a lap with my kids and they had the opportunity to enjoy it, so really, [it was] just spontaneous. It was maybe my favorite thing of the day.

Q: How fast did those 13 years go by?

A: So fast. I mean, unbelievably fast. I’ve had kids the majority of my football career. We had my daughter after my rookie year, and I think maybe that makes it go even faster. I’ve tried to tell some of our guys, we’ve talked about it, we talked about careers and how quickly things can go. The days are long, but the years are short. I blink my eyes, and 13 years later, here we are.

Q: Kyle, a lot of people want to know, is there a possibility of you coming back to the organization, [whether it be] coaching

[or some other capacity]

?

A: Never say never. I don’t know what the future holds for me. Obviously, this place is very special to me, but it’s not on the immediate docket so to speak. Never say never.

Q: Why do you suppose this city has embraced you like this?

A: I think for the same way that I embraced it. For me, I wanted toughness, and effort, and attitude and all those things to be hallmarks of my career. I think very early, the people here saw it or sensed it in me and I sensed it in them. When kindred spirits kind of come together, it’s a great match.

Q: What was going through when you did the lap?

A: I was just trying to soak it in. Really, a big thing for me, especially in the last number of years is trying to share as much as possible with my kids. This is such a unique opportunity and a unique city. I wanted them to experience it with me, whether it’s going to road games with my wife one on one, and they could pick what team they wanted to go watch or bringing them to the facility on my days off or bringing them in the locker room or walking around on the field with them. Like you said, this goes by so quickly, I’m lucky that I have four of my five that will remember all of this. That’s very special to my wife and I.

Q: What did Terry Pegula say to you?

A: Just that he was proud of me and thanked me for everything. I told him, obviously, we talked about this earlier in the week, but that I hope that he and his family was proud of the way I represented their family and organization as proud as I was to represent the Buffalo Bills, our organization, our community on a greater scale.

Q: How did it feel, Kyle, to get a productive pass rush day on a day like this? The pass rush was probably as consistent as we’ve seen it this year.

A: It was good, it was good. We have some good players when given adventitious looks and situations, they can make plays and do some things. When we were able to stop the run and get them in favorable protection looks where they weren’t maxing with six, seven, eight man protection, we were able to get some pressure and affect them, which is good, which is our goal.

Q: Speaking of pass rush, you’re a guy who’s done the pass rush games a lot for a long time. Any idea as to who could handle that in terms of passing the torch on the field?

A: No. All of those guys could do it. I think that they could. It’s something that they know, that they’ve all learned. Obviously, I don’t know what packages and what guys are going to be running around and doing a lot of things, but I think all those guys could handle it. Obviously, the easy choice would be Lorenzo [Alexander], but I think all those guys could handle it.

Q: What will you miss the most?

A: Just the team. I told the guys last night that through all the ups and downs, whether it’s down seasons or coming back from surgeries, which I’ve had a handful, but the thing that kept me motivated and kept me going was team. I think you hear that a lot; it’s a common theme. When men come together and they work hard, and they work hand in hand, there’s a bond that’s built there. I’ll obviously miss team the most.

Q: Kyle, when you think of [the fact that] Josh [Allen] had five touchdowns today, Tremaine [Edmunds] had an interception, Tre’Davious White had an interception. How good do you feel is the condition you’re leaving this franchise in?

A: I’m excited. I think that’s one of the things that made this the hardest decision because of Sean and Brandon [Beane] first and foremost, because of the vision they shared with me two years ago of what they wanted our team to be and what they wanted our organization to me. It literally sets off every lightbulb in my mind of [the fact that] I want to play for these guys, I want to play with these guys. To see the type of, not just players, but the guys that they’re bringing in. I’m not talking about personality, but I’m talking about work. The way these guys work, the way they care about their craft, the way they ask the right questions, the way they care about their teammates. We have so many young guys, first year players, second year to third year players that play on this football team that I can’t wait to watch. I can’t wait to be around as much as they’ll have me and see what this football team will do.

Q: Kyle, what are you going to do next July when training camp starts? Have you given any thought to it?

A: I don’t know. I really don’t know, I’ll probably be chasing my kids around. But if you didn’t know, I do that every July [laughs].

Q: When you were in the tunnel and you were finally alone, what did you think when you stepped onto the field and you realized this was it?

A: I couldn’t believe that they were making me run out by myself. I used the word ‘grateful’ a few times this week. Those are my true feelings. [I’m] just really, really grateful for the opportunity to be here. In that moment, I was grateful. I get past the goal post and I see my family and I lost it. I think I’m fairly certain that I’ve openly boo-hooed inside the cage of the football helmet, and it’ll be the last. So the first and last happened today. [I’m] just grateful, grateful for everything.

Q: Did you hear the fans chant ‘thank you, Kyle?’

A: I heard some things going around. You’re trying to focus one last time and make sure I’m doing my job and making sure I’m helping my teammates do their job, but I heard a lot of those things and saw a lot of those things that they did.

Q: Kyle, what did it mean to you to have other organizations and people from other organizations all around the league reach out on social media or even personally to you?

A: I heard from so many people this week. I think you guys have heard me, even through limited success, the ups and downs, the silver lining that’s in everything is the relationships that I’ve built. Whether it’s coaches, players, I’ve had an opportunity to be around tons and tons of men that have helped build me, mold me, coach me, correct me that have built me, really, into who I am, and the things that I believe and the things I kind of stick to. I told countless people this week that great careers are not worth having without great men and great people in your life. That’s not just exclusive to teammates and coaches, that’s the ladies who work in our cafeteria when I talk with them, the people who work around our building in our operations and the stadium, the people I’ve met in the city the last few days. It’s all cumulative. It all makes it very special.

Q: As a former fifth round pick, it is fair to say you exceeded expectations.

A: According to you.

Q: [Laughs] Fair point, and a lot of GMs [do], too. What inside of you has driven you to that?

A: Nobody ever said that it’s definitive that you can’t be successful. I played against a lot of guys who were high round picks, who were this, who were that, I played against these [guys] in college. They get to wear a different helmet and know he’s this much more talented, this much more better than I am. Really, when I got here, the only expectation I had was I was going to have an opportunity to compete. I knew in the back of my mind that when it gets hard and it gets really tough, in my mind, that was to my advantage. I thought that if I go out and I compete and I literally give it all that I’ve got, we’ll see where it goes. I didn’t have any expectations, though I guess outside of being willing to compete and wanting to compete, the only expectations was that I was going to play. I’m going to be the best that I can be. Whatever that is, that’ll be. Like I said, here we are.

Q: Kyle, do you remember your first conversation with Tom Reeder when he expressed to you that you could do this?

A: My high school coach? I don’t think we every talked about NFL. He was obviously a huge building block for my football career and is one my first serious football coach. You go down I-20 in Louisiana and Louisiana high school football is serious business, right? I don’t think we ever talked about the NFL, but he laid the groundwork, among other people laying the groundwork, of hard work every day, doing your best every day. It’s really something that I’ve clung to. I’ve shared a small story of my team last night that during my sophomore year, we had a career day at school and my history teacher at the time was my defensive coordinator in high school. A friend of mine’s dad was there, he was an insurance salesman in my hometown, he was trying to brag on me about how great I had done as a sophomore, gotten some accolades, this and that. My defensive coordinator said, at the time, he’s a good player and he’s a talented kid, but if he worked as hard as he could all the time and he played as hard as he could all the time, he’d be special. In a 20-second interaction in a doorway at Ruston High School, it changed the trajectory of my life. Changed my attitude, changed my vision, changed who I was. I shared that story with the team and with the coaches last night and I told them, ‘You never know what makes the difference.’ I’ve shared that with those men and I can’t wait to go home and tell them. I’ve told them before but really changed the mindset and the vision of a 16-year-old kid. Like I said, it changed the trajectory of my life.

Q: Is there anyone one game or play that stands out during your 13-year career here? Any defining Kyle Williams moment?

A: I don’t know if there are any plays or anything like that. And everyone that’s asked, I’ve told the same answer. It was being with my teammates in that locker room in Miami last year. Just the joy of that is what team is all about.

Q: How much do you think you’ve grown personally over the last 13 years?

A: I think I’ve grown a lot. I mean, my family has grown. Obviously, my priorities have changed and grown. I am far from a perfect guy. Hopefully, I’ll continue to grow into whatever comes next and grow into a husband and a father in a lot of different ways. Like I said, I’m far from perfect, and I’ve got a lot of room to go, but I’m willing to grow and get better.

Q: Maybe coaching t-ball or soccer?

A: I’m going to be watching it. My kids are dead-set on coaching, so that probably means that I will. There’s a lot to do on this. I’ve watched way too many t-ball games on FaceTime over the years and things like that. I’m going to get my hands on them and make sure they’re doing it the right way.

Q: You’re the last connection to Marv Levy. Have you heard from Marv at all?

A: I haven’t spoken to Marv, but I think I’m the last connection to the Wilson family as well. I try to express my gratitude to them, but Marv and Ralph and Mary bringing me here so many years ago… outside my wife and my kids, they are the biggest blessing in my life.

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