Steelers linebacker Vince Williams 'adding to his toolbox'

Vince Williams never has held the official designation as captain of the Pittsburgh Steelers defense. For that matter, for roughly half of his Steelers’ career he hasn’t even had the official designation of “starter.”

But that doesn’t mean Williams’ veteran voice doesn’t command respect in the Steelers’ locker room. In Year 8 of what he’ll tell you is his dream job – linebacker for the Steelers – Williams is making an abundance of plays in the middle of one of the NFL’s best defenses.

“He’s a great leader. He’s a workhorse. He does everything the right way. He don’t cut no corners,” said teammate Minkah Fitzpatrick, who last month gave Williams one of his votes for the defense’s captaincy. “He came from not the typical background of a high-caliber player that he is. He’s grinded for everything that he has.

“I love playing with him. He plays with great energy, and he just makes the game a lot more fun to just be around.”

Back as a full-time starter in 2020 after a season in a three-way timeshare at the Steelers’ two inside linebacker spots, Williams at age 30 is having arguably the best start to a season of his career.

Despite playing one fewer game than the defenders on 30 of the other 31 teams, Williams leads the NFL in tackles for loss with eight. Two of those have come against opposing quarterbacks, giving Williams a sneaky-impressive 17 sacks over his past 46 games — quite a number for a player who is asked to pass-rush on a handful of snaps, at most, per game.

“To me, sacks are the most amazing thing,” Williams said this week. “I like hitting the most important person on the field. It feels like in chess when you take somebody’s queen off the board, so I like that. I like beating up on quarterbacks.”

Williams has no shame in lobbying defensive coordinator Keith Butler or coach Mike Tomlin for more opportunities to rush the passer. “This is Blitzburgh,” he says, matter-of-factly.

But that’s not all the former sixth-round pick is tasked with, of course.

Playing the second-highest rate of Steelers defensive snaps of his career (71%, trailing only the 75% he played in 2017), Williams is fourth on the team in total tackles (14) and solo tackles (12). And in the passing game, Williams often is used in coverage, too.

“He’s adding to his toolbox, if you will,” Tomlin said. “That’s why we’re able to utilize him, maybe even in more circumstances than we have in recent years.”

Williams appeared to be on the way to being phased out by the Steelers during the 2019 offseason when both signed a free agent and traded up in the draft to take an inside linebacker. But the veteran brought in, Mark Barron, was released one season into his two-year, $12 million contract. That left Williams as the unquestioned running mate to Devin Bush, whom the Steelers took No. 10 overall in 2019.

Williams isn’t blessed with the eye-popping athleticism of Bush, but his demeanor, football IQ intangibles and instincts have endeared him to teammates and coaches.

“Vince is a professional,” Steelers inside linebackers coach Jerry Olsavsky said last month. “Every year, he does something different. He comes back, and people are like, ‘Well, Vince should be gone this year because he’s not—’ (and then) he comes back and not only is he the same, but he’s acquired another skill.

“He loves playing football, and he says he recognizes his weaknesses. He goes after them with a vengeance, and he gets those weaknesses thrown away. If this was eight years ago, we’d say Vince is going to play four years and then go away. That’s not the same Vince. His person is the same, but the football player has gotten a lot better because in his down time, he’s really improved himself. I tell Vince all the time I wish that I was like him (because if I was) I would have played a lot longer.”

Olsavsky was also a late-round pick of the Steelers (in 1989) who carved out an NFL career (10 seasons). Williams last month moved past Olsavsky on the Steelers’ all-time games-played list. Sunday will be Williams’ 111th game, three more than Olsavsky played.

According to pro-football-reference.com, only 15 linebackers in the history of the franchise have played more. Many of the names ahead of him are some of the most recognizable in franchise history: Ham, Lambert, Harrison, Lloyd, Russell, Porter, Farrior.

Well aware of his football history, and especially that of the Steelers, Williams can take pride in knowing that as a sixth-round pick who multiple times had to fight just to have a starting job, he might be among the most unlikely of the all-time Steelers linebackers.

“People can keep knocking on Vince,” Olsavsky said. “He’s going to laugh all the way to a very long, successful NFL career.”

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