The Los Angeles Rams suffered some notable losses in the secondary this offseason with the departure of safety John Johnson III and cornerback Tory Hill in free agency. Fortunately, they did managed to alleviate this turnover by bringing back cornerback Darious Williams on a one-year deal.
Williams is coming off a career year that saw him start in 10 of 16 games. He took full advantage off his increased role by recording four interceptions and returning one for a touchdown.
The Rams were so adamant about keeping Williams that they made sure to place a first-round tender on him. As a result, he is slated to earn $4.77 million for the 2021 NFL season.
Although the tender was a short-term solution, general manager Les Snead is optimistic about Williams’ long-term future in L.A.
“I think it’s obvious (CB) Darious (Williams) is obviously someone you’d love to be a Ram for a long time,” Snead said before the draft. “We will definitely begin having those discussions internally. We’re a little bit tougher right now, based on the variables you mentioned, and even tougher for planning, because you’re not necessarily sure how next year goes and what’s going to happen there. But as (former Defensive Coordinator) Wade Phillips used to say, ‘Good players get paid,’ and Darious has proven to be a good player.
“I’ve always said we’d love to have as many good players as possible, guys like Darious. His story’s pretty cool. Give him credit, give our coaches credit for developing him and having the courage to put him out there and then give him credit for making the most of that opportunity.”
Williams has certainly come a long way since coming into the league as an undrafted free agent with the Baltimore Ravens. Once his short stint came to an end as a rookie, he was picked up off waiver by the Rams and has since made tremendous strides in his development.
It is evident that Williams has made quite an impression on the front office with his notable improvement in recent years. After all, he will now be tasked with serving as a full-time starter opposite of cornerback Jalen Ramsey for a defense that finished No. 1 in the NFL last season.
The Rams had limited cap space to work with this offseason and it remains to be seen if that will still be the case once Williams becomes an unrestricted free agent next year. Regardless, another strong outing will surely result in a lucrative payday for him.
