Auburn University icon Carnell “Cadillac” Williams shared for the first time his ongoing battle with chronic pain and mental health challenges stemming from a pair of career-ending injuries during his NFL tenure. The 43-year-old former Heisman runner-up, who electrified Jordan-Hare Stadium with 3,831 rushing yards and 38 touchdowns from 2001-2004, sat down with SEC Network’s finebaum & Friends on Monday, his voice cracking as he described the “invisible scars” that have haunted him since tearing both patellar tendons in consecutive seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. “I was the Cadillac—untouchable, slicing through defenses like they were standing still,” Williams said, eyes distant. “But these knees… they’ve been screaming at me for 18 years, and it’s not just physical anymore.”
Williams’ story, once the epitome of Alabama grit, took a tragic turn after his 2005 Rookie of the Year campaign, where he racked up 1,178 yards and seven scores in just 10 games. The following season, a gruesome left patellar rupture in Week 4 against the Panthers sidelined him for the year, but it was the 2007 repeat on his right knee against the Falcons that shattered his dreams. Doctors discovered his kneecap displaced into his thigh, a sight that even the toughest linemen couldn’t stomach. “I thought I’d been kicked—laughed it off at first,” he recounted, echoing a Bleacher Report profile from years past. Yet beneath the forced cheer was a deepening despair; post-surgery infections and failed comebacks led to his 2012 retirement at age 30, far short of the Hall of Fame trajectory fans envisioned alongside contemporaries like Frank Gore.
The struggles didn’t end with football. After a triumphant return to Auburn as running backs coach in 2018—mentoring stars like Tank Bigsby—Williams stepped into the interim head coaching role in 2023, guiding the Tigers to a 6-7 finish amid the Bryan Harsin scandal. But whispers of personal turmoil surfaced in early 2024, culminating in his abrupt resignation from the staff that December amid unsubstantiated rumors of off-field issues. A brief stint with the Las Vegas Raiders as RB coach followed in February 2024, only for him to be let go in February 2025, citing “family priorities.” Now unattached and living quietly in Birmingham, Williams revealed the toll: severe arthritis in both knees requiring daily cortisone shots, compounded by anxiety and depression that once drove him to isolation. “Coaching kept the demons at bay, but losing that rhythm… it’s like the Cadillac’s engine finally seized.”
What stunned listeners most was Williams’ candid admission of suicidal ideation during his darkest NFL days, a revelation he tied to the opioid prescriptions that masked pain but eroded his spirit. “Pills were my crutch after the surgeries—made me feel invincible again, until they didn’t,” he shared, crediting his faith and family for pulling him through. The former fifth overall pick, whose 71-yard touchdown scamper in his NFL debut remains YouTube gold, now advocates for better mental health resources in sports, partnering with the NFL Players Association for peer counseling initiatives. Auburn AD John Cohen, in a statement, praised Williams as “the heart of our program,” announcing a lifetime legacy role that includes guest coaching and alumni outreach, effective immediately.
The outpouring has been swift and heartfelt. Teammates like Ronnie Brown and Jason Campbell flooded social media with support, while #CaddyStrong trended nationwide, garnering over 300,000 mentions by evening. Hugh Freeze, Williams’ successor at Auburn, called him “a warrior whose battles off the field humble us all.” For a program still chasing SEC glory under Freeze’s third year, this vulnerability from its greatest running back serves as a rallying cry—reminding Tigers that true toughness isn’t measured in yards, but in the will to rise again.
As Cadillac Williams embarks on this next chapter—eyeing a podcast on athlete wellness and knee replacement surgery later this year—his story transcends the gridiron, exposing the human fragility behind the glory. In a league that chews up backs like yesterday’s turf, his fight illuminates the path for countless others. War Eagle faithful, ever loyal, stand ready: not just to cheer the highlights, but to lift the legend through the shadows. If his knees won’t carry him anymore, his legacy surely will.
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