Barring a last minute change of heart, the Buffalo Bills are expected to release defensive lineman Mario Williams sometime this offseason. Williams, who signed a six-year deal worth $96 million back in 2012, will count $19.9 million against the salary cap if he remains on the roster. Buffalo may not be willing to pay that price for the decreasing returns of the 31-year-old veteran.
But someone will want to take a flier on the once dominant lineman and that someone could be the Philadelphia Eagles. Now the Eagles have around $30 million in projected salary cap space this offseason, but Malcolm Jenkins just scored a big extension, Fletcher Cox is due for a new deal and re-signing Sam Bradford won't be cheap should new head coach Doug Pederson decide to retain him. Still, Williams could be a low-risk, high-reward gamble for someone.
"Even if the Eagles focus on in-house retention, though, there is at least one buy-low free agent who could deliver them a premium return," ESPN Insiders Vincent Verhei and Sterling Xie wrote. "Williams' production and lackluster effort in 2015 was shameful at times, and he ultimately ended the season with his lowest sack total since his rookie year. The Eagles might understandably balk at Williams for publicly hanging Rex Ryan out to dry, given their issues with player-coach relations during Chip Kelly's regime. But playing under Jim Schwartz, Philly's new defensive coordinator, Williams posted a career-high 14.5 sacks in 2014.
"Schwartz's aggressive one-gapping scheme formed a nice marriage with Williams' skill set then, and there is little reason to believe it would not rejuvenate the 31-year-old after a down season. The Eagles have a nice pass-rushing trio with Cox, Brandon Graham and Vinny Curry, but adding Williams would give Philadelphia's defense a drool-worthy ceiling."
The Eagles defense finished 2015 ranked No. 30 in yards allowed per game (401.6), No. 28 in points (26.9) and No. 15 in sacks (37.0), so it's not as if they couldn't use some help on that side of the ball. Is Williams to Philly a likely outcome? No. But it is a possibility and something the Eagles should consider if the price is right.
