Trayveon Williams

Trayveon Thomas Williams (born October 18, 1997) is an American football running back and return specialist for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). During his junior season at Texas A&M, Williams received first team all-SEC and second-team All-American honors; he also broke the school records for single-season all-purpose yards and rushing yards.

Freshman season
In his collegiate debut in the season opener against UCLA, Williams had 94 rushing yards. After gaining 127 yards against Auburn, including an 89-yard rushing touchdown, Williams was named the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Freshman of the Week. In the next game, against Arkansas, he had 153 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. On October 8, against Tennessee, he had a season-high 217 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in the 45–38 double overtime victory. Williams became the first true freshman in school history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season.

Sophomore season
Williams rushed for 203 yards against UCLA in the season-opening loss. Overall, he compiled 798 total rushing yards as a sophomore.

Junior season
Prior to the season, Williams was selected to the second team All-SEC preseason team. He rushed for 240 yards in season opener against Northwestern State, second highest single-game in school history. He was named one of ten semifinalists for the Doak Walker Award. Following the regular season, Williams received first-team all-SEC honors from the league's coaches and the Associated Press (AP), and second-team All-American honors from the AP, Athlon Sports, and Sporting News.

During the 2018 Gator Bowl, Williams broke the school records for single-season all-purpose yards and single-season rushing yards, and the Gator Bowl record for single-game rushing yards. The school record for single-season all-purpose yards was previously set by Cyrus Gray in 2010, while the single-season rushing yards record was set by Darren Lewis in 1988. Former Syracuse running back Floyd Little set the Gator Bowl record in 1966. On January 3, 2019, Williams announced that he would forgo his final year of eligibility and declare for the 2019 NFL Draft.

2019–2020
Williams was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the sixth round, 182nd overall, of the 2019 NFL Draft. He appeared in 11 games as a rookie in mainly a special teams role. He had 26 carries for 157 rushing yards in ten games in the 2020 season.

2021
On August 31, 2021, Williams was waived by the Bengals and re-signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on December 4. He had five appearances in the 2021 season in a reserve and special teams role.

2022
Williams was cut by the Bengals on August 30, 2022., but was re–signed on September 1.

Williams began the 2022 season as the fourth running back on the depth chart, behind Joe Mixon, Samaje Perine, and Chris Evans, and was a weekly healthy inactive, but starting Week 11 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Williams would replace Evans as the team's kickoff returner. He would appear in eight games, and finish the year with 356 return yards, and 30 rushing yards on 6 attempts. Williams continued to return kicks for the team during their 2022 playoff games.

2023
On March 16, 2023, Williams re-signed with the Bengals on a one-year contract. During the first day of training camp in full pads on August 1, 2023, Williams went down with an ankle injury and was carted off the practice field. He was named the second running back on the depth chart for the season, only behind Mixon. Williams would once again replace Evans as the team's kick returner for the second year in a row. Following the rise of rookie Chase Brown, Williams lost both the job of kick returns and change-of-pace back.

2024
On March 11, 2024, Williams signed a one-year contract extension with the Bengals.