Tag: Darious Williams

Rams lose starting CB to injured reserve days before playing the Lions

Rams lose starting CB Darious Williams to injured reserve days before playing the Lions

The Detroit Lions are relatively healthy entering Week 1. Their opponent, the Los Angeles Rams, is heading in the other direction.

On Thursday, the Rams placed starting outside CB Darious Williams on the injured reserve. Williams, who joined the Rams from the Jaguars this offseason, has been down with a hamstring injury since the early days of training camp.

It’s a major blow to the Rams new-look defenseRams new-look defense. From Rams Wire and Cam DaSilvaRams Wire and Cam DaSilva,

With Williams out, the Rams will lean more heavily on Tre’Davious White and Cobie Durant at cornerback. Durant, however, is dealing with his own hamstring injury and was limited in Wednesday’s practice so he’s not guaranteed to suit up on Sunday night.

It’s a stroke of fortune for the Lions as they start a season with outstanding promise.

4 free-agent CBs the Rams should consider signing with Darious Williams out

Darious Williams is out at least four games and the Rams’ CB group is getting thin already

Things are quickly unraveling for the Los Angeles Rams at cornerback. Derion Kendrick is out for the year with a torn ACL and now Darious Williams has landed on injured reserve with a hamstring strain that he suffered on the second day of training camp.

Tre’Davious White is healthy but Cobie Durant, who will replace Williams, has a hamstring injury of his own that limited him in practice Wednesday. It’s possible that if Durant can’t play, either Charles Woods or Josh Wallace – two undrafted rookies – will be elevated into a starting role.

It’s especially concerning for this week against the Lions, but the Rams also need to think about the following three weeks when Williams will also be out. Here are four free-agent corners the Rams could consider signing to help round out the depth chart while Williams is sidelined.

Xavien Howard: It’s slightly surprising that Howard is still a free agent after being cut by the Dolphins in the spring. He’s a ball hawk who has 29 career interceptions, typically playing his best in zone coverage – a staple of the Rams defense. He’s now 31 years old and hasn’t practiced at all this year, so it is risky to sign him but he’s probably the most talented corner available.

Ahkello Witherspoon: Witherspoon was the Rams’ best cornerback last season, playing every regular-season game and recording three interceptions. Yes, he got torched in his last game as a Ram against the Lions, but he’s familiar with Los Angeles’ scheme and should be able to pick things up pretty quickly if signed.

Duke Shelley: The veteran played 11 games with the Rams last season, primarily as a special teams contributor. He did play 76 snaps on defense and has the ability to play in the slot or on the outside. Shelley has decent ball skills and broke up two passes in limited playing time last year.

Steven Nelson: Nelson, a 31-year-old veteran, played all 17 games for the Texans last season and has suited up in at least 15 games in each of the last six years. Like Williams, he’s primarily a boundary cornerback so he could help fill in on the outside opposite White.

Rams place CB Darious Williams on IR, sidelining him at least 4 games

The Rams placed Darious Williams on injured reserve, which will force him to miss at least the first four games of the season

Darious Williams has been dealing with a hamstring strain since the second day of training camp and it seems he’ll need at least another month to recover. On Thursday, the Los Angeles Rams unexpectedly announced that Williams has been placed on injured reserve.

He will now have to miss at least the next four games and is ineligible to even practice until Week 5 at the earliest. Williams has been projected as a starting cornerback since the Rams signed him in March so this is a big blow to a new-look secondary.

The Rams signed Williams to a three-year deal worth $22.5 million this offseason after he spent the last two seasons with the Jaguars.

Sean McVay said before practice Wednesday that Williams hasn’t had a setback and “he’s doing good.”

“He got his hamstring good earlier in camp, but he’s making progress,” he said.

https://twitter.com/RamsNFL/status/1831767234563469549

With Williams out, the Rams will lean more heavily on Tre’Davious White and Cobie Durant at cornerback. Durant, however, is dealing with his own hamstring injury and was limited in Wednesday’s practice so he’s not guaranteed to suit up on Sunday night.

If Durant is also sidelined, it would likely thrust undrafted rookies Josh Wallace or Charles Woods into a starting role.

Sean McVay shares injury updates on Darious Williams and Jonah Jackson

Sean McVay shared encouraging updates on Darious Williams and Jonah Jackson, who are nearing returns

Darious Williams and Jonah Jackson have been absent from Los Angeles Rams practice for the last several weeks after each player suffered an injury in camp. Williams strained his hamstring on the second day of camp, while Jackson bruised his scapula three weeks ago.

Jackson has been slowly ramping up his activity level in the last week, working through individual drills recently, and he’ll continue to increase his workload in the near future.

Sean McVay told reporters after the Rams’ practice with the Texans on Thursday that Jackson is going to “work back in” next week, per team reporter Stu Jackson. Additionally, Williams is also going to increase his workload next week as the regular season approaches.

The Rams have had to test their depth at both cornerback and along the offensive line with Williams and Jackson sidelined. Getting both players back will be a huge boost to the team, as both of them will be starters in Week 1.

Darious Williams has hamstring strain, Rams won’t rush him back

Sean McVay shared an update on Darious Williams’ hamstring injury Saturday

The first week of training camp was not kind to the Los Angeles Rams’ cornerback group. Derion Kendrick suffered a torn ACL on the first day of practice and one day later, Darious Williams injured his hamstring on the last play of Thursday’s session.

The severity of Williams’ injury wasn’t known initially because of how late it happened in practice, but Sean McVay shared an update Saturday. He told reporters that Williams suffered a hamstring strain and will be evaluated daily.

McVay made it clear that the Rams won’t rush Williams back and the goal is for him to be ready for Week 1.

Even though the season is more than a month away, any missed time during training camp can be costly, especially for a defender who just signed with the team this offseason and is learning a new coordinator’s scheme.

Not to mention, hamstring injuries can linger, as we saw with Cooper Kupp last season. Kupp suffered a setback after returning from his initial hamstring strain, which sidelined him for even longer, causing him to miss four games. Knowing that, the Rams will wisely be safe with Williams this time around.

Sean McVay won’t rule out Ahkello Witherspoon returning amid Rams’ CB injuries

With the cornerback group taking some hits on the injury front, the Rams would be open to bringing Ahkello Witherspoon back

Through only two days of training camp, the Los Angeles Rams’ cornerback group has already taken a couple of hits. Derion Kendrick tore his ACL on the first day of practice, and Darious Williams suffered a hamstring injury on the final play of Thursday’s session, though the severity is not yet known.

Cornerback depth could become a concern but if they’re looking for some veteran help, there’s a familiar face who’s still available: Ahkello Witherspoon.

Witherspoon has remained a free agent all offseason and the Rams could be open to a reunion. Sean McVay was asked Thursday if he would consider bringing Witherspoon back and he wouldn’t rule it out after seeing how well he played in 2023.

“I would never eliminate it,” McVay said. “I thought he did a really good job. I loved working with Akhello last year and that’s definitely something that you wouldn’t eliminate.”

In more general terms, McVay said the Rams will consider bringing in a veteran to help with the depth, which will prevent starters and key backups from being overworked in practice.

“There’s a possibility of that,” he said. “We have some depth right now but being two days in and then having kind of a de-loaded day and then we will turn it back up on Saturday. We’ll look at those things. The thing you want to make sure you don’t do is when you get short on that depth, other guys have to pick up the slack and then it can kind of have an accumulation of some workloads that you want be mindful of. We’ll definitely take that into consideration.”

McVay went on to discuss the Rams’ cornerback group further, mentioning Tre Tomlinson, Josh Wallace and Charles Woods as players he’s noticed in practice. He then said the team won’t rush Tre’Davious White too much as he recovers from a torn Achilles, so “maybe Ahkello is a possibility for us.”

The Rams came into camp with good depth at cornerback but it’s certainly being tested by the recent Kendrick and Williams injuries.

Darious Williams ranks surprisingly high on PFF’s list of top CBs in NFL

Darious Williams is viewed as one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL by PFF, receiving pleasantly high praise entering 2024

One of the Los Angeles Rams’ most notable signings this offseason was Darious Williams. They decided to bring back the talented cornerback after he was released by the Jaguars, signing him to a three-year deal worth $22.5 million.

Williams left the Rams in 2022 to sign with Jacksonville and return home to Florida, and while his first season with the Jaguars didn’t go as well as expected, he played at a high level in 2023. In fact, he played so well that Pro Football Focus considers him to be one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL heading into the 2024 season.

PFF recently ranked the top 32 corners in the league and Williams came in surprisingly high: No. 11. That’s only five spots lower than former Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey and one spot higher than L’Jarius Sneed, who was traded to the Titans this offseason for a third-round pick.

Williams has been one of the league’s best at preventing separation for several years now, but the grades finally caught up with him in 2023. His 85.3 coverage grade ranked tied for fifth among his peers, and now he returns to Los Angeles, where he posted an 81.9 grade in 2019 and an 81.5 grade in 2020.

Williams had one of his best seasons yet in 2023, earning an overall grade of 79.5 – the second-highest of his career. His 85.3 coverage grade was also the best he’s had in the NFL and was tied for fifth at his position – largely thanks to the fact that he only allowed two touchdowns and gave up a completion rate of just 59.3%.

A big reason for his bounce-back year was a full-time move to outside cornerback after the Jags tried to play him in the slot in 2022. That didn’t work, so defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell moved him back outside where he played 979 of his 1,035 snaps.

That was similar to the way the Rams used him in 2021 when he had his breakout season, and he’s expected to remain outside again this year after re-signing with Los Angeles.

Darious Williams named the Rams’ most underrated player for 2024

Who is the Rams’ most underrated player heading into the 2024 season?

Darious Williams was viewed as an underrated member of the Los Angeles Rams’ secondary when Jalen Ramsey was also patrolling the defensive backfield at cornerback. Williams may not have been a household name during his first stint with the Rams, but he was still such an integral part of the defense.

Now he’s back and ready to pick up where he left off in Los Angeles. After being cut by the Jaguars this offseason, he has a lot to prove and will help lead a secondary that also features Tre’Davious White and Kamren Curl.

Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire picked every team’s most underrated player heading into the 2024 season and Williams was his selection for the Rams.

Williams is built like a slot-only cornerback at 5-foot-9 and 187 pounds, but he’s been a great outside cornerback for years, and that was just as true in 2023, when he allowed 51 catches on 86 targets for 613 yards, 178 yards after the catch, two touchdowns, four interceptions, 18 pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 69.6. Through his NFL career, Williams has allowed 10 touchdowns to 11 interceptions, and has a lifetime opponent passer rating of 76.7. It’s safe to say that nobody expected that when he came out of college.

Williams is undersized but he excels as an outside cornerback, as Farrar mentioned. The Jaguars played him out of position at times in the last two seasons but now that he’s back in L.A., he should fit back in seamlessly at the boundary corner position opposite White.

The Rams gave him a $22.5 million contract this offseason so he didn’t exactly come cheap, but he should be a worthwhile addition to the defense.

Details of Darious Williams’ $30M contract show Rams got a bargain

See the full breakdown of Darious Williams’ $30 million contract with the Rams, which isn’t nearly as expensive as it seems

Darious Williams decided to return to the Rams after being cut by the Jaguars before free agency, a perfect pairing for both the team and the cornerback. Williams spent two years in Jacksonville after signing a three-year deal in 2022 but he’s coming back to Los Angeles on a new three-year deal worth $22.5 million, which pays him up to $30 million with incentives.

It sounds like an expensive contract on the surface, given the max value of it, but the Rams actually got a bargain. The full details of Williams’ deal have emerged, courtesy of Over The Cap, and it’s essentially a one-year deal worth $7 million.

That’s because he gets only $7 million guaranteed at signing and $15 million total guaranteed. His cap hits are as follows.

  • 2024: $4.67 million
  • 2025: $9.17 million
  • 2026: $8.67 million

If the Rams cut Williams after the 2024 season, they’ll take on only $2.33 million in dead money and gain a net savings of $6.83 million in cap space in 2025. Add that $2.33 million to his $4.67 million cap hit in 2024 and you get $7 million, which isn’t very much for a starting cornerback.

If Williams is on the roster on the fifth day of the 2025 league year next March, he’ll get another $8 million guaranteed, so the Rams will have to decide on his fate before then. But if things don’t work out, they can easily get out of the contract after only one year and $7 million.

Look: John Johnson III encouraged Darious Williams to return to the Rams

John Johnson isn’t under contract with the Rams but he still helped recruit Darious Williams back to LA

John Johnson III is a pending free agent and has yet to re-sign with the Los Angeles Rams, but he’s still doing his part to recruit players to join Sean McVay’s team. After Darious Williams was released by the Jacksonville Jaguars last week, Johnson texted him encouraging the veteran cornerback to go back to Los Angeles.

Johnson didn’t share the full details of his conversation with Williams but he did at least get a “we will see” out of Darious after telling him to “go on back home.” Johnson’s persuasive words seem to have worked because Williams has agreed to a three-year deal worth up to $30 million with the Rams.

Click on Johnson’s tweet below to see their full text conversation.

There hasn’t been any movement on the free-agent front for Johnson, but Les Snead said during his press conference recently that the Rams have had dialogue with his agent and could see a role for him moving forward.