It goes without saying at this point that the New Orleans Saints have their work cut out for them in 2021. Between questions at quarterback and their salary cap bookkeeping, it’s a lot to handle — making it tough to figure out how they can retain talented free agents like Trey Hendrickson and Marcus Williams (plus Jameis Winston), all of whom should have active markets.
Someone is going to fall through the cracks and play for another team next season. And that could be Williams, who has started four years and played at a high level in New Orleans. He’s bagged 13 career interceptions, already tying him with Mike McKenzie and Fred Thomas to rank 10th-best in franchise history. After working hard to clean up his tackling in 2020, he’s set up for a nice pay day at age 24.
And his asking-price should start at around $8 million per year, which is what Malcolm Jenkins is earning, if not higher. Williams is one of the most-accomplished free agents available this year, and he fits the ball-hawking prototype set by other top earners like Kevin Byard ($14.1 million per year) and Eddie Jackson ($14.6 million).