ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — The agent for Buffalo Bills wide receiver Mike Williams has been granted permission to seek a trade, General Manager Doug Whaley said Monday.
Whaley said Williams' agent, Hadley Englehard, asked to gauge interest from other teams in a possible trade. But Whaley says the Bills aren't actively pursuing a trade.
"We like Mike Williams, we expect him back and we expect big things from him," Whaley said. "But like anybody, if he gets me compensation worthy of a No. 1 wide receiver, which he claimed he is, then we would entertain it."
Williams was not present in the locker room Monday when reporters were allowed access. A message left with Englehard was not immediately returned.
Williams did send out a tweet Monday afternoon saying he is happy being a Buffalo Bill.
Williams was surprisingly inactive for Sunday's 37-22 loss to the New England Patriots. Williams started the Bills' first four games.
Bills coach Doug Marrone said the decision was made to deactivate Mike Williams when the team learned late last week that defensive tackle Kyle Williams would be healthy enough to play after missing the previous game with an ankle injury.
"By that time, we had put so much in game plan-wise for a three tight end package that we practice quite a bit," Marrone said.
"I brought Mike in on Saturday and I told him I needed him to do this for the team. I said, 'It's not a great situation, but it's due to the special teams and everything that we needed to cover.' We talked to him and he handled it like a pro and he'll be ready to go next week."
The Bills (3-3) acquired Williams in April for a sixth-round draft choice in a trade with Tampa Bay. He has eight catches for 142 yards and a touchdown in five games this season.
Williams, a Buffalo native, said at the time it was "a dream come true" to be traded to his hometown team.
Marrone was the coach at Syracuse when Williams abruptly quit the team in November 2009 during his junior season.
Whaley said there have been no conflicts between Williams and Marrone this season.
"He's been a great addition to our program," Whaley said. "Have not had one ounce of problems with him."
Williams signed a six-year, $40 million contract in 2013. He has a fully guaranteed salary of $5.2 million for 2015.
Buffalo has had other issues this season, losing three of four games and needing to address issues on offense and defense in preparing to host Minnesota (2-4) on Sunday. The team changed quarterbacks two weeks ago and the franchise itself was recently sold to Terry and Kim Pegula.
