What Mike Williams' Retirement Means for the Chargers

Jul 17, 2025 at 06:00 PM

Eric Smith

Editorial Director

Mike Williams has decided to retire.

The Chargers wide receiver informed the team of his decision this week as the Bolts were set to open training camp in El Segundo.

Justin Herbert and Derwin James, Jr. reacted to the news after Thursday's practice.

"I want what's best for Mike. He's always been there for us and we're going to be there for him," Herbert said. "It's obviously a tough situation, I've got so much respect for him as a teammate, as a friend, as a receiver, as a player and the man that he is.

"We're going to be there for him however we can help," Herbert added. "Football at the end of the day is a game and there's more to life than just football. I'm just hoping for the best for him."

James said: "Love him as a brother ... I'm going to miss him a lot."

James later said: "He got to make a decision on his stuff, and I'm going to support him either way as his brother. He made the decision for him."

whole lotta love 🤟 pic.twitter.com/Rbu4U1doZl
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) July 17, 2025

Williams, who re-joined the Chargers in free agency, was recently placed on the PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) list with an injury.

The retirement of Williams, who will turn 31 years old in October, leaves a sizable void in the Chargers wide receiver room.

The 6-foot-4 wide receiver was expected to provide a big-bodied target on the outside for Justin Herbert, something the Bolts offense was missing for parts of the 2024 season.

Herbert said in June that he was thrilled to have Williams back on the team.

"He's one of those guys that changes the way you play football when he's on your team," Herbert said.

He later added: "50/50 balls are not quite 50/50 as we've seen with Mike. You need a play, a big-time play, he's going to go up and make it. He's been really fun to play with in the past."

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The Los Angeles Chargers play the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, January 1, 2023 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA. [FINAL SCORE: LAC 31 - LAR 10]

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The Los Angeles Chargers play the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, January 1, 2023 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA. [FINAL SCORE: LAC 31 - LAR 10]

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The Los Angeles Chargers play the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, September 17, 2023 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, TN. [FINAL SCORE: TEN 27 - LAC 24]

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The Los Angeles Chargers play the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, September 24, 2023 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, MN. [FINAL SCORE: LAC 28 - MIN 24]

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The Los Angeles Chargers play the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, September 24, 2023 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, MN. [FINAL SCORE: LAC 28 - MIN 24]

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The Los Angeles Chargers play the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, September 24, 2023 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, MN. [FINAL SCORE: LAC 28 - MIN 24]

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The Los Angeles Chargers play the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, September 17, 2023 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, TN. [FINAL SCORE: TEN 27 - LAC 24]

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The Los Angeles Chargers play the Denver Broncos on Monday, October 17, 2022 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA. [FINAL SCORE: LAC 19 - DEN 16]

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The Los Angeles Chargers play the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, October 9, 2022 at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, OH. [FINAL SCORE: LAC 30 - CLE 28]

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The Los Angeles Chargers play the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, October 9, 2022 at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, OH. [FINAL SCORE: LAC 30 - CLE 28]

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The Los Angeles Chargers play the Houston Texans on Sunday, October 2, 2022 at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX. [FINAL SCORE: LAC XX - HOU XX]

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The Los Angeles Chargers play the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, October 9, 2022 at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, OH. [FINAL SCORE: LAC 30 - CLE 28]

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The Los Angeles Chargers play the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, January 1, 2023 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA. [FINAL SCORE: LAC 31 - LAR 10]

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The Los Angeles Chargers play the Indianapolis Colts on Monday, December 26, 2022 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN. [FINAL SCORE: LAC 20 - IND 3]

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The Los Angeles Chargers play the Denver Broncos on Monday, October 17, 2022 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA. [FINAL SCORE: LAC 19 - DEN 16]

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The Los Angeles Chargers play the Denver Broncos on Sunday, January 8, 2023 at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, CO. [FINAL SCORE: DEN 31 - LAC 28]

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The Los Angeles Chargers play the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, October 23, 2022 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA. [FINAL SCORE: SEA 37 - LAC 23]

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The Los Angeles Chargers play the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, December 11, 2022 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA. [FINAL SCORE: LAC 23 - MIA 17]

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The Los Angeles Chargers play the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, December 5, 2021 at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, OH. [FINAL SCORE: LAC 41 - CIN 22]

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The Los Angeles Chargers play the Denver Broncos on Sunday, November 28, 2021 at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, CO. [FINAL SCORE: LAC 13 - DEN 28]

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The Los Angeles Chargers play the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, November 21, 2021 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA. [FINAL SCORE: LAC 41 - PIT 37]

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The Los Angeles Chargers play the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, November 21, 2021 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA. [FINAL SCORE: LAC 41 - PIT 37]

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The Los Angeles Chargers play the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, October 17, 2021 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, MD. [FINAL SCORE: BAL 34 - LAC 6]

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The Los Angeles Chargers play the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, September 26, 2021 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, MO. [FINAL SCORE: LAC 30 - KC 24]

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The Los Angeles Chargers play the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, October 10, 2021 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA. [FINAL SCORE: LAC 47 - CLE 42]

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The Los Angeles Chargers play the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, October 10, 2021 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA. [FINAL SCORE: LAC 47 - CLE 42]

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The Los Angeles Chargers play the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, September 19, 2021 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA. [FINAL SCORE: DAL 20 - LAC 17]

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The Los Angeles Chargers play the Denver Broncos on Sunday, December 27, 2020 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. [FINAL SCORE: LAC 19 - DEN 16]

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The Los Angeles Chargers play the New York Jets on Sunday, November 22, 2020 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. [FINAL SCORE: LAC 34 - NYJ 28]

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The Los Angeles Chargers play the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, November 8, 2020 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. [FINAL SCORE: LV 31 - LAC 26]

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The Los Angeles Chargers play the Denver Broncos on Sunday, November 1, 2020 at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado. [FINAL SCORE: LAC 30 - DEN 31]

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The Los Angeles Chargers play the Denver Broncos on Sunday, November 18, 2018 at StubHub Center in Carson, California. [FINAL SCORE: DEN 23 - LAC 22]

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The Los Angeles Chargers play the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday, December 13, 2018 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. [FINAL SCORE: LAC 29 - KC 28]

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The Los Angeles Chargers play the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday, December 22, 2018 at StubHub Center in Carson, California. [FINAL SCORE: BAL 22 - LAC 10]

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The Los Angeles Chargers play the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday, December 13, 2018 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. [FINAL SCORE: LAC 29 - KC 28]

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The Los Angeles Chargers play the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, November 25, 2018 at StubHub Center in Carson, California. [FINAL SCORE: LAC 45 - AZ 10]

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But the past will apparently stay in the past as Herbert reminisced Thursday about Williams' best plays in powder blue.

There was that ridiculous one-handed catch against the Rams in 2022, plus a back-shoulder catch against the Titans the same season that set up a game-wining field goal.

And who could forget Williams' gutsy performance in Week 18 of the 2021 season against the Raiders when Herbert and Williams teamed up to propel the Bolts into overtime.

Williams had six catches in the fourth quarter alone, including two on fourth down. He then had the game-tying, 12-yard touchdown with no time left in regulation ... all while dealing an injury.

"Just a fighter ... how many first down conversations that he came up with," Herbert recalled about that game. "I think on that last drive it might have been three or four.

"Kind of like we talked about, he's a guy you have to find out there. He's going to make a play and when everything mattered the most, he was going to show up," Herbert added. "That's what I'm going to remember the most about him, it was an honor to play alongside him, throw him the ball and definitely heartbreaking, tough news to hear about. But we got his back no matter what."

The Chargers wide receiver room still features Ladd McConkey, who will be Herbert's top target in the group.

But there is now an ample opportunity for players such as Quentin Johnston and Jalen Reagor to provide that presence within the offense.

And rookies such as Tre' Harris and KeAndre Lambert-Smith could also potentially carve out roles in Greg Roman's scheme that help stretch the Chargers passing attack down the field.

"It's always tough. Like I said, you can't replace a guy like that," Herbert said. "Thankfully we got a receiver room that continues to push each other, they compete and they want to be the best.

"Thankfully, we got a lot of guys in that room that are going to make plays," Herbert added. "We've seen it last year and the year before, it's a veteran group and I'm excited for the opportunity for these guys."

all love, always 💙 pic.twitter.com/D6odLpl7bm
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) July 17, 2025

A 2017 first-round pick by the Chargers, Williams played the first seven years of his career in powder blue.

He provided plenty of memorable moments and highlight-reel plays, which of course includes the 2018 road win against the Chiefs on Thursday Night Football when the wide receiver hauled in three touchdowns plus the game-winning, 2-point conversion.

Williams caught 309 passes for 4,806 yards and 31 touchdowns in his previous time with the Bolts.

But he suffered a torn ACL in Week 3 of the 2023 season, something he said hampered him in 2024 when he was with the Jets and Steelers.

Williams' presence in the locker room will also be missed as he was a beloved figured among teammates and coaches.