Posted: December 1, 2010 8:13 p.m. CT
By Mark Concannon
FOXSportsWisconsin.com
"You're out there in the sun, the sun beamin' on you," Packers cornerback Tramon Williams said, doing a little reminiscing Wednesday afternoon.
He wasn't talking about two-a-day practices in August. Those are picnics at the beach compared to some of Williams' other previous jobs, like shoveling coal at a construction site when he was growing up in Louisiana.
"Louisiana weather, I had a hard hat, work boots, things that. It was a tough job. You're out there doing the labor work. It was something I didn't want to do my whole life."
Williams won't have to worry about that now. His professional outlook is much brighter after signing a contract extension Tuesday that will take him through 2014. The deal was reportedly worth over $33 million with a signing bonus of $6 million.
"It feels great," Williams said. "It's been awhile. We've been waiting, but everyone feels great for what we got and it's been wonderful, not just because of you but because of your family, your wife your kids, everybody. It's great for everybody."
Williams also had jobs cleaning tractors, stocking supermarket shelves and working on his uncle's farm. "You've pretty much done everything in your life," Williams said. "You work from the tough jobs onto what you love and that's football. This is pretty much easy."
But his coaches and teammates would argue that nothing has come easy for Williams and appreciate the challenges he has overcome to establish himself as one of the NFL's elite defensive backs. He was undrafted out of Louisiana Tech, signed with Houston as a free agent but was cut just before the start of the 2006 season. He hooked on with the Packers' practice squad in late November, won a roster spot in 2007 and steadily progressed until he cracked the starting lineup during the 2009 season.
"I can't say enough about Tramon," Packers head coach Mike McCarthy said. "I am just so proud of him as an individual. I think he's an example, he's taken full advantage of the resources of the program, and Tramon is the example that you point to. He's done everything that we've asked him to do. From a professional standpoint, he's taken advantage of every opportunity that was given to him. I take a lot of pride in seeing a guy like Tramon get paid and accomplish what he did financially this week, so I feel very good about the path he's taken and look forward to moving forward with him."
"It's always a good story to tell people when someone does things the right way," Williams said. "When you treat people the right way and do everything pretty much the right way and people treat you for it. That's what the organization has done."
Williams credits teammate Charles Woodson and former Packer Al Harris with taking him in and showing him how to succeed in the NFL. "Charles and Al was big parts of that," Williams said. "Sitting there watching those guys, watch how professional they are, on and off the field, I mean that helps a lot."
"He's worked very hard to get to this point, got himself an opportunity," said Woodson. "You never know when your opportunity is going to come. His came this year and he grabbed it and took a hold to it. And he's been the starter ever since, so I'm very happy with him and his progress and the way he's approached the game."
Over the past two seasons, Williams has put up Pro Bowl numbers, but wasn't being paid a Pro Bowl salary. But he never tried to negotiate a deal through the media or threatened to hold out.
"That's not my M.O., I guess you could say," Williams said. "I always work hard. I wasn't going to stop working hard because of a contract issue, you know. It's not good for me, it's doesn't look good on my part. It never crossed my mind.
"I've been playing my whole life for free so I knew everything was going to take care of itself. It wasn't about me worrying about a contract or this and that. It was just about me playing and going out to win games."
Five years ago when no one called out his name during the NFL Draft, Tramon Williams had to wonder, at least a little bit, if his desired work attire of helmets and shoulder pads would be replaced by hard hats and work boots. His career path is much clearer today.
"That's something you go through as a player," he said. "Everyone hits an adverse situation. I think I took it pretty well though, never doubted myself, continued to work out. Green Bay gave me the chance. I'm here now. Hopefully everything continues going well."
