Titans release Mike Williams

The Titans released Mike Williams on Thursday. File

The Mike Williams experiment is over for the Tennessee Titans.

Williams, the former first-round pick of the Detroit Lions who was signed last Thanksgiving, was waived before Thursday’s practice.

Williams had been impressive during organized team activities, but was released as he had fallen to fourth-team on the Titans depth chart.

The Titans worked out a number of receivers on Thursday and signed Chris Davis, a former Wake Forest receiver who has previous time with the New York Jets.

Williams was the 10th overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, but had been a disappointment mainly because of his conditioning and work habits.

He caught 29 passes for 350 yards, but had just 15 receptions for three teams over the past two seasons.

Williams was traded by the Lions to the Oakland Raiders during draft weekend in 2007, and was later released after dropping a key pass in a loss to the Titans. Williams’ weight had ballooned to about 270 pounds when the Titans signed him last year, but after being ordered by Coach Jeff Fisher to get in better shape, dedicated lost more than 30 pounds this off-season.

Still, his conditioning remained an issue even as training camp began just over a week ago.

“We brought him in here at the end of the season. We were very explicit as to what we wanted to have happen before he returned,” Fisher said. “He worked toward that and never really met the criteria, so we moved on.”

Williams flashed with some plays during training camp, but also had several passes stripped from his grasp and dropped a letter-perfect deep pass on a post route from Kerry Collins in Tuesday’s practice.

“It was just a combination of things that we weren’t getting from him _ too many drops,” Fisher said. “Unfortunately for him, we’ve got a good group of receivers and we just didn’t see any improvement [in him] so we moved on. He’s had potential and maybe he’ll realize it someplace else.”

The move hit home for Titans running back LenDale White, who played with Williams when both starred at Southern California.

White said he saw in Williams as a Titan glimpses of the player whom many regarded as the top receiver in college football when they were teammates at USC.

“Maybe I’m biased because I played with him for so long, and I’m biased toward him because I know what kind of player he is and know what he can do,” White said. “I don’t know if they saw it or he wasn’t giving them what they knew he can give.

“The coaches and front office are put in a position to make our team better, regardless of whether it makes one guy happy or not. You’ve got to do what’s right for the team. I guess it’s the right move for the team. Hopefully, it is.”

The next move is one only Williams can answer, said White, and it is regarding his dedication to football.

“It’s all up to Mike. Mike has to make a decision,” White said. “If Mike really wants to play football, then he’s going to have to get hungry. He’s going to have to show people that this is what he really wants. No disrespect to Mike Williams, I love him. That’s like my family. … But at the same time, it ain’t about if the teams want him. He’s going to have to want it himself and show people that Mike Williams is serious about playing football.”