Garrett Williams


Garrett Alexander Williams is an American professional football cornerback for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League. He played college football for the Syracuse Orange.

Early life

Williams grew up in Harrisburg, North Carolina, and attended Hickory Ridge High School. He was rated a three-star recruit and committed to play college football at Syracuse University.

College career

Williams played in three games as a true freshman before redshirting the rest of the season. He became a starter going into his redshirt freshman season and was named honorable mention All-Atlantic Coast Conference after making 64 tackles with a conference-leading 12 passes defended and two interceptions. He was also named to the Freshman All-American team by The Athletic. Williams again led the ACC with ten passes broken up and also had 52 tackles and five tackles for loss in 2021. Williams was elected captain in 2022 and made 36 tackles through seven games, had three total turnovers and one sack.
Over the four years, Williams played 32 games, made 152 tackles, and had four interceptions, one of which was a pick-6 on Trevor Lawrence, his only pick-six at Clemson.

Professional career

The Arizona Cardinals selected Williams with the 72nd overall pick in the third round of the 2023 NFL draft. He began the 2023 season on the reserve/non-football injury list while he recovered from a anterior [cruciate ligament injury|torn ACL] suffered in college. He was activated on October 21, 2023. As a rookie, he appeared in nine games and started six. He finished with 23 total tackles, one interception and two passes defended. Williams made 16 appearances for Arizona during the 2024 season, compiling two interceptions, nine pass deflections, one forced fumble, and 58 combined tackles.
On September 17, 2025, Williams was placed on injured reserve due to a knee injury he suffered in the team's Week 2 victory over the Carolina Panthers season|Carolina Panthers]. He was activated on November 3, ahead of the team's Week 9 matchup against the 2025 [Arizona Cardinals season|Arizona Cardinals]. In 10 starts for the team, he recorded one interception, five pass deflections, one forced fumble, and 46 combined tackles. On December 22, Williams was placed on season-ending injured reserve due to an Achilles injury he suffered in Week 16 against the Atlanta Falcons season|Atlanta Falcons]. Two days later, he was diagnosed with a [Achilles tendon rupture|torn Achilles tendon].