The Oklahoma Sooners football community has watched Mario Williams bounce from promise to setback more than once. This week, the latest chapter closed in Los Angeles: the Rams terminated the former Oklahoma wide receiver’s contract after waiving him from injured reserve with an injury settlement.
Williams, 23, is a free agent again. The Rams first waived him with an injury designation on Aug. 18 after a hamstring injury in the preseason opener against Kansas City.
He cleared waivers, reverted to IR, then was released with a settlement a few days later—the second time in two years the same franchise has ended his deal under similar circumstances.
For Sooners fans, the news lands with a familiar mix of pride and frustration. Williams arrived in Norman as a highly ranked 2021 early enrollee, a four-star receiver who chose Oklahoma under Lincoln Riley.
As a true freshman, he posted 35 catches for 380 yards and four touchdowns in 12 games. He earned Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors after a 5-catch, 100-yard, one-touchdown performance in a 52-21 win over Texas Tech. That flash of speed and playmaking is still the version many in crimson remember.
Riley’s departure sent Williams into the transfer portal. He followed his coach to USC, later landed at Tulane, and produced a 1,000-yard season in 2024 (60 receptions, 1,031 yards, six touchdowns) that earned second-team All-AAC honors. The Rams signed him as an undrafted free agent after the 2025 draft.
In that first preseason he showed why Norman believed in him: two catches for 46 yards and a touchdown plus return work against the Chargers. An injury ended that shot. A reserve/future deal in January 2026 brought him back for another try. Camp reports had him making plays again before the hamstring ended it.
Undrafted receivers live on the margins. A few weeks on the shelf is often enough for a team to move on. Williams has now been released twice by the same club after preseason injuries.
At 5-foot-9 and 186 pounds, he has always been a slot and return candidate more than a featured outside threat. The production at Tulane proved he can produce when healthy and featured. The NFL has not given him a clean runway.
From an Oklahoma vantage point, Williams is another reminder of how quickly the Riley-era talent scattered and how hard the next step can be. He never became a household name in Norman, but he was part of a recruiting class that briefly felt like the future.
Now he will rehab, stay in shape, and wait for a phone call. Practice-squad and special-teams jobs open every week. A former Sooner who once lit up Texas Tech still has the tape and the speed.
Whether another team gives him a healthier chance is the next question.
