OCTOBER 9: Williams has not, in fact, been released yet, per SI’s Howard Balzer (Twitter link). General manager Steve Keim acknowledged that the TE is “banged up,” however, suggesting that an agreement is in place between player and team to keep him in the fold, potentially via the practice squad.
OCTOBER 7: The Cardinals are cutting ties with Maxx Williams. Early in his fourth season with the team, the veteran tight end received his walking papers Friday.
Williams re-signed on a low-cost deal (one year, $1.27MM) this offseason after having played with the franchise throughout Kliff Kingsbury‘s tenure. The Cardinals retained both Williams and Zach Ertz this year and drafted Trey McBride in the second round.
Early in his eighth NFL season, Williams had played 17% of Arizona’s offensive snaps. He does not have a reception through four games. Because the trade deadline has not passed, Williams’ vested-veteran status will send him straight to free agency. Williams could conceivably come back on a practice squad agreement, but for now he is off the team.
A Ravens second-round pick in 2015, Williams topped out in receiving production (32 catches, 268 yards) as a rookie. Teams have still valued the former Minnesota Golden Gopher, with the Cardinals signing him to three contracts since 2019. Williams, 28, caught 39 passes for 497 yards and three touchdowns during his three-plus-year Arizona run.
Williams has made multiple IR trips since coming to the desert, however. He missed nine games in 2020 and 12 last year. A major knee injury shelved him midway through last season, and while the Cardinals brought him back, they made multiple long-term tight end commitments since that injury. Ertz re-signed on a three-year deal in March, and McBride is locked in through 2025. Seventh-year veteran Stephen Anderson rounds out Arizona’s active-roster tight end contingent.
What a big time bust. The guy has had knee problems dating back to his Ravens days and has never been able to stay healthy. The only reasons why teams keep him around is because he’s a half-way decent blocker.
Ravens sure like drafting tight ends in earlier rounds. They hit on Andrews and Heap. Missed on Williams, Hurst. The jury, for now, is out on Kolar and Likely.
Hey No Politics, did the Ravens miss on Oweh? They drafted him knowing he wasn’t good at sacking QBs when at PSU, but took him anyway.
And Hamilton? Gulp. Not looking like anything near a first round talent so far. Agree?
If your offense is going to run “diesel” or Twin TE packages and they are going to be your primary target, it doesn’t hurt to draft them early so long as you get what you think they are. Hurst is a bust and so is Maxx Williams. I am not sure why they felt they needed to go so high at the position when they’ve had luck hitting at 3rd and 4th round TE’s.
Oweh: I think it is too soon to tell. It may have been a reach to take him even with next to the last pick in the draft. He was a combine hero, a guy 6’5” and 260lbs that can run 4.36? I think he had a nice rookie season and if the Ravens had their ideal situation, he wouldn’t be playing as many snaps as he has to right now. He’s learning on the job. I think he should get credit for things other than sacks, he makes plays in the backfield, forced three fumbles last year and so far has 1 this year, and he hits the QB. A little too early to tell. He’s going to have to learn technique, he’s already got some freakish natural ability and that’s what the Ravens banked on. I think if they could get a solid rusher from the other side, Oweh could have more impact.
Hamilton is another one that’s a bit too soon to tell. Is he a safety, is he a linebacker? I think the Ravens thought they had a “joker” who can play both. I think he’s a bit too slow of foot to be an NFL safety. If he’s going to be a cover backer, then he needs to get more stout at tackling. I think they reached, but playing in the NFL isn’t easy. He might just need more time in their system.
I am more high on Oweh personally just because he’s a more natural athlete.
As to Oweh, I meant next to the last pick in the FIRST ROUND of the draft.
No Politics in the house! Great stuff.
In regards to TEs, agreed, rounds 3 and 4 should do. Only go higher on the “can’t miss” which, of course, can be risky) tri. Hurst more than Williams was the one that got me riled.
Oweh and Hamilton assessments. Thank you. Sweet music to my ears. I’m definitely the impatient type when it comes believing in the younger players’ abilities and how they translate to the field action. You “talked me off the ledge” on both. I need to practice patience.
Cheers.
Thanks.
The year of the Hurst draft, the Ravens had higher picks and were trading down to accumulate more picks. What hurts is some of the players they passed on, what they got, and what else was still available. I think the player they wanted was picked before they drafted and then they panicked and settled on Hurst because it was a position of need. The thing is, they could have had Gesicki or Goedert in the second round.
They passed on Calvin Ridley and DJ Moore to get Hurst. Hindsight is always easy, but a lot of people were shaky on the pick at the time and felt it was a reach.
As for Hamilton, supposedly he is grading out fairly well according to Pro Football Focus, but I won’t pay for any NFL related content so I can’t verify this myself. If so, I don’t know what they are seeing, or is it that the rest of the safeties in the NFL are really bad?
TLDR: Not fair to judge these players on the small sample size. They both have some obvious talent, it is up to the Ravens to develop it. Oweh has shown some promise already.
No he hasn’t.
The situation with Hurst was a little different in that Baltimore had another tight end in Andrews that broke out in a magnificent way and grabbed hold of that job. Hurst had a plethora of injuries, just like Williams, but did net Baltimore a good pick on his way out. He has shown now that he can play at a decent level, albeit for other teams.
Williams, however, hasn’t shown that. He was one of those super athletic, big tight ends (see:Adam Shaheen) that utterly disappointed with their lack of receiving ability. Their lack of availability was really the killer there, though, as they missed a horde of games early that could have possibly aided in their development, especially in such a historically tight end friendly environment such as Baltimore (in Williams’ case, and dating back even to the Flacco days). Williams was heralded as an uber athletic prospect coming out of college, and like Hurst, seemed like a decent pick for Baltimore at the time. These days, like you said, he’s a good blocker and not much else.
The Ravens just like tight ends. They’ve had several good prospects the last few years that were well considered coming out of college (Williams, Hurst, Andrews, and Boyle) and seem to always be looking for another. And we can’t of course forget the past TEs that have been highly regarded in Baltimore, such as Heap, Pitta, and Watson. It’s just a position that they value highly, like edge rusher. They’ll always be willing to invest there.
As for Oweh…I think that Baltimore is looking more intensely for edge help than they’re willing to let on, in terms of scouting for the draft next year. Oweh is someone that they really want to develop into something more, given his measureables, because they’ve lacked a consistent high level edge pressure that they had since before Judon left (and had with players before). Ferguson’s death impacted those plans as well, as he was someone else they were counting on developing into a long term, homegrown force on the edge. They’re going to believe in Oweh because there’s not much else option-wise, and they may as well see how he builds on his promising rookie year. But I still see them drafting another talented edge player this year.
I don’t believe that they’re quite ready right now to enter into a free agent pool, which is not something Baltimore typically does and could signal desperation on their part for their line of thinking, but a bad edge presence later this year could. I would expect more to see them draft a guy and hold a veteran (ala Pierre Paul) as a rotational option. I would not be surprised to see Hamilton get tested as a rusher for a few plays this year-not due to his ability, but due to the Ravens trying to find a role where he can contribute more behind the starting safeties.
Don’t type so much. No one is going to bother reading this.
I apologize for bothering you. Have a good day.
Hurst and Andrews were taken in the same draft.
Yes, that’s my point. Andrews’ emergence as Hurst continued to be injured allowed the Ravens much more leeway in turning Hurst loose. They didn’t need to depend on him to get better or more available because Andrews seized that role, despite being a lower pick. Hurst has gone on to show that he has good skills at TE, but Baltimore didn’t have to wait on him to emerge due to Andrews’ own breaking out.
Cool first name.
Vikings should kick the tires on the former Gopher
It’s a shame he got injured last year. He was flashing some of the player he was supposed to be.
Who?
TJ Maxx has good deals.