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Former FIU Player Chandler Williams Dies During Flag Football Event

CHICAGO (AP) — Former FIU football player and Arena Football League player, Chandler Williams, died Saturday at a flag football tournament in South Florida.

Williams was 27.

The AFL did not release a cause of death.

The wide receiver was a seventh-round draft pick of the Minnesota Vikings in 2007 out of Florida International.

He got into NFL preseason games in four seasons but never played in a regular-season game, also spending time with the Miami Dolphins, Atlanta Falcons and Kansas City Chiefs. Williams also played for the CFL's Toronto Argonauts.

He caught 83 passes for 996 yards and 17 touchdowns while leading the AFL with a 23-yard kickoff return average for the Tampa Bay Storm last season.

Storm President Derrick Brooks says "we are shocked and saddened."

He is survived by his fiancee, Vanitia Harrigan, and a daughter, Tori Williams.

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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