Breaking down Dolphins WR Preston Williams’ new contract

The contract doesn’t guarantee that he’ll make the team in 2022.

While the Miami Dolphins have made a number of moves to bring new players onto their roster, they’ve also kept a lot of their own who were free agents, including wide receiver Preston Williams, who the team opted not to give a restricted free agent tender to but re-signed anyway.

Williams, 25, was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2019 by the Dolphins and has been on the roster for all three seasons. The biggest issue in his career has been staying on the field, as he’s only played in 24 games in his career.

Now, Williams is back in Miami on a one-year contract worth $1.49 million with $275,000 guaranteed. The guaranteed money comes from his signing bonus ($100,000) and the portion of his base salary that is guaranteed ($175,000). The deal has a total base salary and of $965,000 and per-game roster bonuses up to $425,000.

With the way that this contract is structured, the Dolphins would only create $275,000 in dead cap if they were to release Williams. At this point, he’s fighting for that fourth wide receiver spot with a number of wideouts on the roster, including Trent Sherfield, Lynn Bowden Jr., and River Cracraft.

He’s shown promise before when he’s been on the field. If he can do that again and stay healthy, Williams should have a spot on this roster. However, that’s far from a guarantee.

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