Cardinals’ defensive line to attend funeral for Dan Williams’ father

While the Arizona Cardinals’ 31-7 loss to the New Orleans Saints in Week 3 certainly stung, it paled in comparison to the loss one of their own had to endure last weekend.

Just hours before the team was supposed to leave for New Orleans Saturday, starting nose tackle Dan Williams
received tragic news that his father, Thomas Williams, was killed in a car accident near Jackson, Miss. while driving to watch his son play in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Williams was excused from the game against the Saints to be with his family and will once again be out of lineup when the Cardinals take on the Buccaneers Sunday.

While the former first-round pick hasn’t spoken to the media since his father’s passing, fellow defensive lineman Calais Campbell spoke on his teammate’s status Thursday.

“Dan is doing pretty good, relatively speaking for what he’s going through,” Campbell said. “Dan is probably my best friend in the whole NFL. I see him as a brother and got to know his family over the years, and he knows my family pretty well.

“This week, especially with Tampa Bay being a running team, we could use him. But we’re going to be there to support him.”

Not just in spirit as it turns out, but in body as well.

“The whole defensive line is going to fly out out after the walk-through to go to the funeral [in Memphis Saturday] and then fly back for the nighttime meeting,” said Campbell. “It’s going to be good to see him. You know, just show him some love and be there for him. We look forward to him getting back here next week.”

The Arizona Cardinals Broadcast Department contributed to this report