Mike LaFleur Has Perfect Joke After Cardinals Rookie Avoids Return to College

Wydett Williams won’t be returning to college football after all.

Aug 28, 2026; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; Arizona Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur looks on during the third quarter against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

ARIZONA — There were a handful of surprising moves made by the Arizona Cardinals on their initial 53-man roster, though one of the more interesting additions ahead of the 2026 regular season was safety Wydett Williams.

Williams, an undrafted rookie who signed with Arizona this spring, impressed the Cardinals enough to land as a rare fifth safety on their regular season roster.

Williams was previously part of a lawsuit that opened the door for recently signed NFL players to head back to college. That was a whole ordeal in and of itself, though Williams no longer has to weigh going back to school.

Head coach Mike LaFleur made sure to highlight that when speaking to reporters.

"We didn't want him to go back to college ball," LaFleur joked.

"I saw him yesterday. I said, 'One, you earned it, and two, I guess there's no Saturdays for you anymore.'"

Jokes aside, Williams played well enough to land on the active roster while bigger names in BJ Ojulari and Sean Murphy-Bunting were sent packing. The Cardinals weren't projected to keep five safeties outside of Budda Baker, Andrew Wingard, Dadrion Taylor-Demerson or Kitan Crawford.

"I think you guys saw it in those preseason games, I think his arrow in his progression just continued to go up, and like I just said, he earned this spot," LaFleur continued on Williams.

"Keeping a fifth safety doesn't always happen, just like keeping a seventh receiver doesn't always happen. But now, it's continue to move the needle forward, continue to improve and attack it like you're going to be playing on Sundays. Like I tell all these guys, and we'll have a meeting about it: just because you made it, a lot of things change.

"You're always trying to improve the roster at every position. And at the same time, there's no redshirt years. There is absolutely no redshirt years unless you get put on season-ending IR. But that's not really a redshirt year that anyone wants. So he understands that, but we'll keep pounding it away to the young guys."

The Cardinals recently revealed their practice squad ahead of 2026, though no safeties were on the list (there are three open spots still, for what it's worth).