The Buffalo Bills announced Monday morning that they had released starting guard Daryl Williams
The Buffalo Bills were going to have to make some moves before the start of free agency if they hoped to sign free agents this offseason. They had already released Jon Feliciano and A.J. Klein and the next player is Daryl Williams, who has been a starter on the offensive line the past two seasons, according to the team’s website.
Williams joined Buffalo in 2020 after a few down seasons with the Carolina Panthers on a one-year, prove-it type deal. He certainly did that by starting every game at right tackle and earned a new three-year deal last offseason.
However, Williams struggled at right tackle to start the year but moved inside to right guard and played very well there this past season.
Buffalo Bills could still bring Daryl Williams back
While the Buffalo Bills released Williams, there appears to be a chance the team could bring him back for next season. According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the two sides will remain in touch and “don’t rule out a possible return down the line.”
The #Bills are releasing OT Daryl Williams, source says. He started every game for Buffalo over the last two seasons. He was slated to make $8.125 million this season. However, don’t rule out a possible return down the line. The sides will remain in touch.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 14, 2022
The biggest issue for Daryl Williams, and why the Buffalo Bills likely decided to make this move, is that the contract he signed last year was with the expectation that he would be a starting tackle.
However, the move inside to guard made the contract too much for Buffalo and they needed that cap space. By releasing Williams it gives Buffalo a little over $6 million in cap space while creating about $3 million in dead cap.
The release of Williams makes sense but it does also create a weak part of the roster even weaker. The interior of the offensive line was an area that made sense to try and upgrade but the need becomes even greater with Williams and Feliciano released leaving only Cody Ford as the player on the roster who has played in a regular season game at the position.