Carolina Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams said that he has been recently cut from the team.
According to Williams, he was released because it doesn't make sense for the team to keep both him and fellow running back Jonathan Stewart.
The 31-year-old athlete made the revelation during an interview with Molly Grantham of WBTV. He said that Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman and head coach Ron Rivera held a meeting last week regarding his status with the team.
"We sat down and [Gettleman] told me, 'The fact of the matter is we're going to have to release you,'" Williams told WBTV according to the Bleacher Report. "I said you know, 'Why?' and he said, 'because we don't run the ball enough."
Despite Williams' revelation, Steve Drummond, a spokesperson for the Panthers, said that the team hasn't released the running back yet. However, he confirmed that a meeting between the player and team officials did take place.
As for Gettleman, he remained tight-lipped regarding what he and Williams talked about.
"I spoke to DeAngelo," he said according to ESPN. "We had a great conversation. It's confidential. It's between us."
Although the general manager didn't confirm Williams' status with the Panthers, Gettleman noted that the running back had a difficult time during the previous NFL season.
In 2014, he missed ten games due to injuries and was not able to obtain touchdown points. During his absence, Stewart became the team's top running back. He was able to score three touchdowns and rushed for a total of 809 yards, the San Francisco Gate reported.
Williams has been with the Panthers since 2006 after he was drafted by the team as its 27th pick. He has only played for one team since joining the NFL.
