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Australian defensive tackle Jesse Williams has suffered another NFL setback, with the Seattle Seahawks announcing they have waived him.
The 191cm-tall, 148kg Brisbane giant’s NFL career was derailed in 2013 and 2014 by knee injuries and last year, just as his prospects looked up, he was diagnosed with kidney cancer.
The 25-year-old, nicknamed Tha Monstar, had vowed to return to the Seahawks and last month footage appeared on social media of the hulking athlete dunking a basketball.
Williams now has to hope another NFL team will sign him.
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll was a big fan of Williams’ determination to battle cancer and knee injuries, with the Australian putting on pads and practising with his team-mates just two months after surgery.
But, the team’s patience appears to have run out.
“He’s a battler all the way,” Carroll said just before Williams underwent kidney surgery last May.
“He’s fought some difficult fights and he’s fighting another one – maybe the fight of a young man’s life – so we’ll be there with him and hope to pull him through.”
Williams had been a star at the national championship-winning University of Alabama and appeared set to be a late first or second round draft pick, but doubts about the health of his knees resulted in him dropping to the fifth round where the Seahawks swooped.
Despite three years with the Seahawks, Williams did not play a single regular season game although he did qualify for a Super Bowl ring when the team defeated the Denver Broncos in 2014.
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