correction

A previous version of this story, based on reports attributed to Mike Williams's father, indicated that the former NFL wide receiver had died. Multiple reports have since indicated conflicting information as to Williams's status. This version has been corrected.

Mike Williams, a former wide receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Buffalo Bills, suffered serious injuries when he was struck by a steel beam at a construction site.

Initial reports Wednesday created an impression that Williams, 36, had died in the incident. Subsequent reporting by several news outlets have since indicated Williams is on life support at a Tampa-area hospital. A spokesperson for the hospital system said he was not able to provide details regarding Williams.

The Tampa Bay Times cited comments from the mother of Williams’s 8-year-old daughter, who was said to have left a Tampa hospital Wednesday where she found Williams nonresponsive.

“He was asleep when we went in there, and he woke up when he heard our voices and his daughter’s voice,” Tierney Lyle said, per the Tampa Bay Times. “And he looked around, and he blinked and he was crying but he can’t move.”

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Buffalo station WKBW reported that an agent for Williams, a native of that city, confirmed the ex-player had not died. People close to his family offered a similar update to Buffalo station WIVB.

Williams was working at the construction site, according to Spectrum News in Buffalo.

Williams played at Syracuse and led the team with 461 receiving yards as a true freshman in 2006. He was an all-Big East player the following season.

A fourth-round selection by Tampa Bay in 2010, he led the team with 964 yards on 65 receptions as a rookie. He led the team with 11 touchdowns and finished second to Sam Bradford in voting for offensive rookie of the year honors. A 2012 season in which he scored nine touchdowns and had 996 receiving yards led to the Buccaneers signing him to a six-year, $40.25 million contract before the 2013 season.

Williams was traded to the Bills for a sixth-round draft pick in 2014 and spent one season with the team. His career ended in 2016, when he spent part of the offseason with the Kansas City Chiefs.

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