Bills were interested last year
Williams signed a bit of a one-year “prove-it” deal with the Bills. He’s no stranger to such a contract, because he just finished another one up. After his rookie deal expired in Carolina after an injury-riddled season, the Panthers inked him to a one-year, $7 million deal. Very similar to the one-year, $6 million deal the Bills signed him to.
Was such a contract a year in the making? Prior to the 2018 season, the Bills’ offensive line went down the drain. Eric Wood and Richie Incognito suddenly were gone and there were holes upon holes in the unit. Last offseason, the Bills overhauled the group in response, adding Mitch Morse, Jon Feliciano, Quinton Spain, Cody Ford and Spencer Long. According to reports from early in the 2019 offseason, the Bills had interest in adding Williams at that time, but instead he returned to familiar territory in Carolina, likely because head coach Ron Rivera seemed to like his game, since the Panthers stuck with him through his struggles last season. With Rivera gone and the Panthers’ rebuild on, Williams to Buffalo was likely made a lot easier.
#ThrowbackThursday features #KeepPounding OT Daryl Williams (@DWilliams_60) reaching his set point + transitioning into his anchor: pic.twitter.com/AHQB9ZkyAQ
— The Scouting Academy (@TheScoutAcademy) October 27, 2016