Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Mike Williams told the team earlier today that he will be retiring after eight seasons in the National Football League. This comes a little more than five months after Williams signed a one-year, $6 million contract with the Chargers.

Williams’ agent, Tory Dandy, made the Chargers aware of his decision earlier this week. According to a source that spoke to ESPN’s Kris Rhim, the decision “came as a shock” to the organization.

whole lotta love pic.twitter.com/Rbu4U1doZl

— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) July 17, 2025

While playing college football for the Clemson Tigers from 2013 to 2016, he helped the program win the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship while also earning First-Team All-ACC honors that season. Following a stellar college career where he finished with the fourth-most receiving yards in Clemson history, Williams was taken with the seventh overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Chargers.

During his eight-year career, Williams played for the Chargers from 2017 to 2023 and for the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024. While playing for the Chargers, he twice recorded 1,000-yard seasons. He retires with 330 catches, 5,104 receiving yards, and 32 touchdown receptions.

A tough break for the Bolts

These are not ideal circumstances for the Los Angeles Chargers. They already struggled to find meaningful production from the wide receiver room (outside of Ladd McConkey) in their AFC Wild Card loss to the Houston Texans. Williams was brought in to be LA’s reliable number-two receiving option. Now, they’ll have to look elsewhere for somebody to fill that role.

Los Angeles NEEDED Mike Williams to be a veteran leader in the wide receiver room. Now that Williams is no longer on the team, the Chargers’ wide receiver room has an average age of 23.8. Needless to say, LA will have one of the youngest and most inexperienced wide receiving corps in the NFL this season.

The streets will never forget Mike Williamspic.twitter.com/Uh6K2h6GDl

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) July 17, 2025

Though it’s usually good to have a unit filled with young players, it can also have its downfalls. Just look at the Green Bay Packers, who had a wide receiver room littered with first-, second-, and third-year players. Though they had moments of success, Green Bay’s young wideouts also had the second-highest drop rate in the NFL last season behind only the Cleveland Browns. If the same fate were to befall the Chargers, it would be disastrous for Justin Herbert and Jim Harbaugh.

The Chargers need a battle-tested veteran in the wide receiver room to help the young guys be better prepared for the 2025-26 season. Right now, Jalen Reagor and Quentin Johnston are expected to be a major part of LA’s offense. Considering neither one of them recorded a single catch in the playoffs, it would make sense for the Chargers to add another wideout.

A smart decision for LA would be to sign a veteran wideout to a one-year deal. A guy like Keenan Allen makes a ton of sense because he spent 11 years with the Chargers, meaning he already has an established connection with Justin Herbert. Then again, if they wanted to skew a little younger, Amari Cooper (who recently turned 31) is also available. It doesn’t have to be a franchise-altering move, but they need to bring in somebody else to be a number-two or number-three receiving option.