The next few days are an emotional time for many NFL players. Across the league, teams have to trim down rosters from 75 to 53 by Saturday afternoon. While many fans just see it as "cut day", where they get to look at the final roster, it's a heartbreaking day for many players who fought so hard just to get here.
Jesse Williams' career certainly hasn't been the easiest since being a fifth-round pick in 2013 out of Alabama. The defensive tackle didn't play a snap in his rookie year, suffering a knee injury in August and being placed on injured reserve as a result.
A year later, Williams was excited to get back out on the field and show he was ready to play for the defending Super Bowl champions. Instead, he went back on injured reserve in August with another knee injury. Now two seasons into his career, Williams' career outlook was bleak.
When Seattle released Williams in March of this year, it seemed like his career could be nearing an end. While he was a talented player coming out of Alabama, two major knee injuries in consecutive years are bad news for any player, especially a 300-plus pound lineman. But just a few weeks later, Seattle brought him back on a new deal.
What makes Williams story special isn't that many on Twitter liked him coming out of college and wanted to see him make an impact in the NFL, but it was his battle with cancer. Diagnosed in May with papillary Type 2 cancer, Williams needed surgery on his kidneys and was expected to miss the entire 2015 season. It was almost a foregone conclusion, he would spend another year out of the NFL, this time fighting cancer.
In a positive surprise, Williams treated cancer like his Seahawks handled the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII. Just months after having a kidney removed, doctors cleared Williams to return to the practice field and Seattle put him on the active roster.
Williams played in Seattle's final three preseason games, collecting three total tackles and 0.5 a sack. After missing most of the offseason, it appears he just didn't do enough to make the Seahawks' 53-man roster. Williams announcement on his Instagram account seems to indicate he has been released by the Seahawks. Though his release has not been confirmed by the team.
While this may be the end of Williams chances at making Seattle's 53-man roster, he should be a candidate for the team's practice squad. With more time back in the facilities, getting into football shape and working with the team as a member of the practice squad, it could get him back on the field before too long.