William Powell (gridiron football)

William O. Powell II (born March 9, 1988) is a Canadian football running back who is a free agent. He has also been a member of the Ottawa Redblacks, Saskatchewan Roughriders, Arizona Cardinals, Philadelphia Eagles, Houston Texans and Detroit Lions.

William Powell

Powell with the Redblacks in 2022
Personal information
Born:	(1988-03-09) March 9, 1988 (age 35) Houston, Texas, U.S.
Height:	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight:	207 lb (94 kg)
Career information
High school:	Duncanville (TX)
College:	Kansas State
Position:	Running back
Undrafted:	2011
Career history
Arizona Cardinals (2011–2013) Philadelphia Eagles (2013)* Houston Texans (2014)* Detroit Lions (2014)* Ottawa Redblacks (2015–2018) Saskatchewan Roughriders (2019–2021) Ottawa Redblacks (2022)
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
CFL status:	American
Career highlights and awards
Grey Cup champion – 2016 CFL East All-Star – 2017, 2018 CFL rushing touchdowns co-leader (2019)
Career NFL statistics
Rushing attempts: 60 Rushing yards: 217 Receptions: 19 Receiving yards: 132 Return yards: 507 Total touchdowns: 0
Career CFL statistics
Rushing attempts: 715 Rushing yards: 3,928 Rushing touchdowns: 25
Player stats at NFL.com · CFL.ca

Early years

William O. Powell II was born in Houston, Texas March 9, 1988. When Powell was about a year old, he and his family relocated to Dallas, TX. Powell is a 2006 Graduate of Duncanville High School in Duncanville, Texas. Powell is the son of the late Darla S. Powell. He is the middle child between two sisters, Brittanye and Jasmyn.

College career

He played College football at Navarro Junior College, and then at Kansas State. He was never a starter in college, but earned the starting role in 2008 his final year at Navarro, where he led the team in Rushing Yards (937), Touchdowns (8), Carries(139) and Yards Per Carry Average (6.7). He then went on to Kansas State, where he began as a special teams player. He then proceeded to become 2nd on the depth chart behind Daniel Thomas during his 2nd year at Kansas State. He also was given the role of kickoff returner, where he led the nation in Kickoff Return Average (34.5). His season was cut short, however, when he suffered a season ending toe injury against Texas Longhorns. This injury occurred after his 4th and final Collegiate Rushing Touchdown.

Professional career

Arizona Cardinals

Powell was not selected in the 2011 NFL Draft and was then signed by the Arizona Cardinals. On September 2, 2011, Powell was waived as part of final roster cuts before the beginning of the season. On December 21, 2011, Powell was resigned to the Cardinal's practice squad. Powell was invited back to Cardinals camp in 2012 and would then proceed to make the 53 man roster. Powell would have his first start in the NFL in a game against the San Francisco 49ers. He would finish the season with 217 rushing yards. On April 1, 2013, Powell would sign a one-year contract to remain with the Cardinals. On July 23, 2013, Powell was waived before camp after the Cardinals signed veteran RB Rashard Mendenhall and drafted Stepfan Taylor and Andre Ellington.^[1]

Philadelphia Eagles

On July 24, 2013, the Philadelphia Eagles claimed Powell off waivers.^[2] On July 26, 2013, Powell was waived by the Philadelphia Eagles after failing his physical.^[3]

Houston Texans

The Houston Texans signed Powell to a two-year contract on August 11, 2014.^[4] The Texans released Powell on August 25, 2014.^[5]

Detroit Lions

Powell signed with the Detroit Lions on September 30, 2014.^[6] He was released on October 22, 2014.^[7]

Ottawa Redblacks (2015–2019)

On September 8, 2015, Powell signed with the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League.^[8] Powell made his professional debut on October 6, 2015, against the Toronto Argonauts, after an injury to starting running back Jeremiah Johnson. Powell would go on to start the final five games of the regular season, carrying the ball 77 times for 447 yards (4.9 yard average) with two rushing touchdowns. He also contributed in the passing attack catching 19 passes for 158 yards with one receiving touchdown. On June 15, 2016, it was reported that Powell would miss the entire 2016 season with an Achilles injury that he suffered in the team's first preseason game.^[9] Set to become a free agent on February 14, 2017, the Reblacks signed Powell to a one-year contract extension on January 31, 2017.^[10] On September 29 Powell set a Redblacks franchise record in rushing yards in a single game with 187.^[11] Despite missing six regular season games Powell finished second in the league in rushing yards with 1,026, trailing Andrew Harris by a mere nine yards. On January 15, 2018, the Redblacks signed Powell to a one-year contract extension.^[12] Powell came just shy of Harris again in 2018, with 1,362 rushing yards and six touchdowns in 16 games played.

Saskatchewan Roughriders (2019–2021)

On February 12, 2019, Powell signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.^[13] He played in all 18 regular season games in 2019 where he had 215 carries for 1,093 yards and a league-leading 12 touchdowns. After the 2020 CFL season was cancelled, he signed a one-year contract extension with the team on December 17, 2020.^[14] In a shortened 2021 season, Powell had 168 rush attempts for 733 yards and three touchdowns. He became a free agent upon the expiry of his contract on February 8, 2022.^[15]

Ottawa Redblacks (2022)

On February 8, 2022, the Ottawa Redblacks announced that they had re-signed Powell for the 2022 season, upon the opening of the free agent period.^[16][17] On February 14, 2023, Powell became a free agent.^[18]

References

1. "Arizona Cardinals Release William Powell". Raising Zona. 2013-07-23. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
2. Wulf, Bo (July 24, 2013). . PhiladelphiaEagles.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
3. "RB Powell Waived; Rookies Activated". PhiladelphiaEagles.com. Retrieved July 26, 2013.
4. "After Cutting Three, Texans Sign Two Running Backs". Houston.CBSLocal.com. August 11, 2014. Retrieved 2014-08-11.
5. Texans trim roster on Monday
6. Beard, Ron. "Lions to promote RB Winn; place RB Owens on IR". Detroit News. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
7. Schwab, Frank. "Lions cut running back ... and send him home from London". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
8. "Tim Baines on Twitter". Retrieved 2015-10-07.
9. "REPORT: REDBLACKS LOSE POWELL FOR SEASON TO ACHILLES INJURY". cfl.ca. June 15, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
10. "Redblacks re-sign Powell on one-year deal – Article – TSN". TSN. 2017-01-31. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
11. "William Powell sets rushing record, but Redblacks lose to Roughriders". Ottawa Citizen. 2017-09-30. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
12. "Redblacks re-sign veteran running back Powell – Article – TSN". TSN. 2018-01-15. Retrieved 2018-01-16.
13. "Roughriders sign RB William Powell". 980 CJME. CJME.
14. "Running Back William Powell Staying in Green And White". Riderville.com. December 17, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
15. "Transactions – Football player trades and signings". Canadian Football League. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
16. "William Powell Returns to the RedBlacks" Our SportsCentral, February 8, 2022.
17. "Coming home: former Riders running back William Powell returning to Redblacks," 3DownNation, February 5, 2022.
18. "Transactions – Football player trades and signings". Canadian Football League. Retrieved March 21, 2023.

External links

• Ottawa Redblacks bio
• Arizona Cardinals bio