The Saints might be in a bad cap spot, but that isn’t stopping them from bringing back a lot of their own guys. New Orleans has reached an agreement to re-sign defensive back P.J. Williams, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets.
The deal is for one year and worth $2.3MM, which is fully guaranteed, Rapoport writes. He signed a similar one-year, $2MM deal last offseason. The Saints drafted him in the third-round back in 2015, and he’s been with the team ever since. A torn hamstring cost him his entire rookie season, and a serious head injury limited him to only two games in 2016.
After playing in just two games through his first two seasons, he’s now played in at least 14 each of the past four seasons. He’s been a part-time starter each year, playing at various spots in the defense. Williams is versatile and has extensive experience at both safety and cornerback.
This past season he started three games and played about 48 percent of the defensive snaps. The Florida State product had 40 tackles, two passes defended, two fumble recoveries, and an interception.
Phew. Glad NOLA has that fullback and #4 cornerback situation resolved.
Underpay. Somebody else would have offered Williams four years for $8 million with $5 million guaranteed. Serious home town discount. Hope it doesn’t come back to bite Williams (career ending injury).