Damion Willis

Damion Lakeith Willis (born June 20, 1997) is an American football wide receiver for the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL. He played college football at Troy and signed with the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2019.

Damion Willis
refer to caption
Willis with Troy in 2017
No. 15 – Seattle Sea Dragons
Position:Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1997-06-20) June 20, 1997
Jackson, Mississippi, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:204 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school:Southeast Lauderdale (Meridian, Mississippi)
College:Troy
Undrafted:2019
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2022
Receptions:9
Receiving yards:82
Receiving touchdowns:0
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Early life and high school

Willis was born Jackson, MS, and moved to Meridian, Mississippi at the age of 2. He was raised by a single mother who worked as a hospice nurse. Willis attended and played football at Southeast Lauderdale High School. He registered at least 1,000 receiving yards in each of his final three seasons playing for the Tigers. As a senior, Willis had 48 catches with 1,154 yards receiving and 17 touchdowns and was named First-team MHSAA 3A All-State. Southeast Lauderdale retired his number in 2019.[1]

College career

Despite receiving offers from Louisiana Tech and Louisiana-Monroe, Willis opted to begin collegiate career at East Mississippi Community College, playing sparingly in his freshman year.[2] As a sophomore, he led the Lions with 620 receiving yards and 18.2 yards per catch while finishing second on the team with six touchdown receptions and third with 34 catches. Willis transferred to Troy University, which had recruited him out of high school, for the remaining two seasons of his eligibility.[3]

In his first season with the Trojans, Willis started eight games and finished the season with 42 receptions for 620 yards and three touchdowns and was named honorable mention All-Sun Belt Conference.[4] He caught a New Orleans Bowl record 11 passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns against North Texas.[5] Willis was named first-team All-Sun Belt as a senior after catching 56 passes for 876 yards and a conference-best 10 touchdowns, despite missing two and a half games due to injury.[6]

Professional career

Cincinnati Bengals

Willis signed with the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent on April 28, 2019.[7] He made his NFL debut on September 8, 2019, against the Seattle Seahawks, starting in place of injured receiver A. J. Green and making three receptions for 30 yards.[8] He was waived October 23, 2019,[9] and re-signed to the practice squad the next day.[10] The Bengals promoted Willis back up to the active roster on November 15, 2019.[11] On December 3, 2019, Willis was waived by the Bengals and re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted back to the active roster on December 10, 2019.[12] Willis finished his rookie season with nine receptions for 82 yards in ten games played (two starts).[13]

Willis was placed on the active/physically unable to perform list at the start of training camp on July 29, 2020,[14] and activated from the list five days later.[15] Willis was waived on August 25, 2020.[16]

Cleveland Browns

Willis was claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Browns on August 26, 2020.[17] He was waived four days later with a failed physical designation.[18]

Jacksonville Jaguars

On December 7, 2020, Willis signed with the practice squad of the Jacksonville Jaguars.[19] His practice squad contract with the team expired after the season on January 11, 2021.[20]

Denver Broncos

On May 18, 2021, Willis signed with the Denver Broncos.[21] He was waived on July 20, 2021.[22]

New York Giants

On July 31, 2021, Willis signed with the New York Giants.[23] He was waived on August 31, 2021 and re-signed to the practice squad the next day.[24][25] He was released on September 3.[26]

Washington Football Team

Willis signed with the Washington Football Team's practice squad on October 5, 2021.[27] He was released on November 23, 2021.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On December 28, 2021, Willis was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers to the practice squad.[28] He was released on January 7, 2022.

Seattle Sea Dragons

On November 17, 2022, Willis was drafted by the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL.[29]

References
  1. Hayes, Elton (May 4, 2019). "Willis has jersey retired at Southeast Lauderdale". The Meridian Star. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  2. Hobson, Geoff (August 2, 2019). "Willis Catches Attention At Camp Zac". Bengals.com. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  3. Kerekes, Drew (December 21, 2016). "Former SEL standout Willis ready to contribute at Troy". The Meridian Star. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  4. Wise, Jeremy (December 23, 2017). "Troy football looking for two offensive assistants". APNews.com. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  5. Dabe, Christopher (December 17, 2017). "New Orleans Bowl: Troy wins again in Louisiana, this time in rout of North Texas". NOLA.com. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  6. Roling, Chris (August 1, 2019). "Damion Willis is the undrafted free agent tearing up Bengals camp so far". Bengals Wire. USA Today. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  7. Rogers, Ken (April 28, 2019). "Troy Trojans wide receiver Damion Willis inks free agent deal with Cincinnati Bengals". Dothan Eagle.
  8. Judis, Patrick (September 9, 2019). "Injury roundup: Bengals have just 1 scare in loss to Seahawks". CincyJungle.com. SB Nation.
  9. Alper, Josh (October 23, 2019). "Bengals bring back Anthony Zettel, waive Damion Willis". Profootballtalk.com.
  10. "Willis To Practice Squad, Chesley Released". Bengals.com. October 24, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  11. Gantt, Darin (November 15, 2019). "A.J. Green out this week, Dre Kirkpatrick to IR for Bengals". Profootballtalk.com. NBC Sports. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  12. "Bengals Sign Willis To Roster, Place Tate On Reserve/Injured". Bengals.com. December 10, 2019.
  13. Inabinett, Mark (February 18, 2020). "Alabama Roots: 154 NFL players in the 2019 season". AL.com. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  14. Bouda, Nate (July 29, 2020). "Bengals Place RB Rodney Anderson & WR Damion Willis On PUP List, Add G Alex Redmond To NFI List". NFLTradeRumors.co. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  15. @JayMorrisonATH (August 3, 2020). "#Bengals WR Damion Willis passed his physical today" (Tweet). Retrieved August 3, 2020 – via Twitter.
  16. "Bengals Announce Player Moves". Bengals.com. August 25, 2020.
  17. "Browns claim WR Damion Willis". ClevelandBrowns.com. August 26, 2020.
  18. "Damion Willis: Fails physical, heads to waivers". CBSSports.com. August 30, 2020. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  19. "Jags sign 4 to practice squad, including former CB Quenton Meeks". Jaguars Wire. USA Today. December 7, 2020.
  20. "Five have contract expire". FantasyGuru.com. January 11, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  21. DiLalla, Aric (May 18, 2021). "WR Tim Patrick, S Trey Marshall sign tenders; Broncos sign WR Damion Willis". DenverBroncos.com.
  22. Simmons, Myles (July 20, 2021). "Broncos waive Damion Willis". NBCSports.com. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  23. Eisen, Michael (July 31, 2021). "Giants sign wide receiver Damion Willis". Giants.com.
  24. Eisen, Michael (September 1, 2021). "New York Giants announce 53-man roster". Giants.com.
  25. Eisen, Michael (September 1, 2021). "Giants establish practice squad amid roster moves". Giants.com.
  26. Eisen, Michael (September 3, 2021). "Giants sign TE Ryan Izzo to practice squad; WR Damion Willis released". Giants.com.
  27. Washington Football Team Public Relations (October 5, 2021). "Washington Makes Multiple Roster Moves". WashingtonFootball.com. Archived from the original on October 5, 2021. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  28. Dave Schofield (December 28, 2021). "The Steelers make several moves with their practice squad on Tuesday". BehindTheSteelCurtain.com. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  29. "Rosters for all eight XFL teams: Full draft results and where Vic Beasley, Martavis Bryant landed". ESPN.com. November 18, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
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