Ravens franchise legend announces official retirement

Pro Bowl defensive tackle Brandon Williams retires with the Ravens.

The Brandon Williams who stepped to the podium to address the media on Tuesday at the Under Amour Performance Center in Owing Mills, Md was much more svelte than the one who anchored the interior of the Baltimore Ravens defensive line for nearly a decade.

Once a hulking, stocky behemoth of a nose tackle who established himself as one of the best run-stuffers in the NFL throughout his 10-year career, Williams is now much slimmer and has officially announced his retirement from the NFL as a member of the organization.

“This is where I started,” Williams said. “In the bible, Elijah was fed by the Ravens and then he was told to go off somewhere else because [God] had something better for him and then I just wanted to come back and bring it full circle.”

Being back on the podium to address the local media was a “surreal” feeling for him given he hadn’t been back to Baltimore since his contract expired following the 2021 season.

“Coming back here is definitely bringing back a lot of memories,” Williams said. “A lot of great times, a lot wars we had on the field, wars we had with my teammates I’m seeing and just the people I’ve been around. It’s been a wonderful time and I’m just happy and proud to be retiring a Raven.”

Originally drafted in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft out of Missouri Southern University, the former small school prospect with a big and boisterous personality endeared himself to the franchise, fan base and Baltimore community with both his play on the field and high character he exemplified at all times. He was part of the first draft class following the Ravens’ magical Super Bowl run and outlasted every member except fullback Kyle Juszczyk who is in his 12th season in the league and eighth with the San Francisco 49ers.

While he is not the most accomplished member of his draft class in terms of career accolades nor the only one who went on to win a championship with another team, he is the only one of the bunch who signed a second contract with the team and will be remembered as one of the franchise greats.

“The things he could do, athletically, when we watched him on tape, and then we watched him in the workouts, and then he got here. He started doing backflips up and down the field as a 300-plus-pound dominating defensive lineman,” head coach John Harbaugh said. “All the great plays, all the pass rushes, all of the runs, all of the interactions, the locker room leadership, the good-natured fun that you always had every day – that smile right there.”

During his nine-year tenure with the Ravens, Williams compiled the vast majority of his career statistical numbers including 323 total tackles, 33 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, 19 quarterback hits, two forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries and 11 batted passes. His Pro Bowl season came in 2018 when the Ravens had one of the top-ranked defenses in the league and Williams played a significant role as a space-eating roadblock in the run game.

“This is what gave me my livelihood [and] everything I wanted,” Williams said. “Coach [Clarence Brooks] teaching me everything, blossoming me into the player I became and I just wanted to come back here and be in Baltimore for the rest of my life.”

One of Williams’ most memorable moments from his time with the team was also his most viral and it didn’t even take place on a football field but rather in the locker room during the grueling “dog days of training camp” one year when he and several teammates were filmed dancing hysterically.

“[Terrell Suggs] was about to go out and I’m just kind of lulling around like ‘Man, dude it’s hot outside, I don’t really want to go out’ but then Sizz started playing music and I just started getting into my grove, feeling myself and then Chris Canty had the camera and it happened,” Williams said.

As far as one of his top on-field memories from his career, he highlighted times when he was able to stop current Ravens running back Derrick Henry in his tracks back when he was still the focal point of the Tennessee Titans offense.

“I’ve always prided myself on stopping the run, I’ve always prided myself on making sure you don’t get those fourth and shorts and stuff like that,” Williams said. “Seeing him carry the ball for us now is amazing but one time when I got after him in the backfield, that was a great moment because I’ve always prided myself on taking down the best running backs and he is one of the best.”

The average length of an NFL career is less than 3.5 years so to nearly triple that is a feat Williams never thought would come to fruition but is grateful for and feels fortunate to have achieved.

“I always dreamt of it and I’ve always wished and prayed for it but to actually have it happen and be here now retiring, it seems like it went so quick,” Williams said.

When asked what he’d want people to remember most about his legacy with the Ravens, Williams had this to say:

“He was authentic,” Williams said. “He was always real, he gave it his all, he was always real (and) when he came out he was just who he was. He wasn’t playing a show, he was just going out there and playing this game and being who he was.”