Tag: Preston Williams

Preston Williams to play for DC in 2024

Former Vol Preston Williams to play for DC in 2024.

Former Tennessee wide receiver Preston Williams will play for the DC Defenders in the United Football League during the 2024 season.

Williams played for the Vols from 2016-17 under head coach Butch Jones.

Williams played in 12 games, including three starts at Tennessee. He totaled 16 receptions for 247 yards and two touchdowns before transferring to Colorado State.

The 2024 season is the first for the UFL. The UFL formed after the United States Football League and XFL merged in Nov. 2023.

UFL’s 2024 season will kick off on March 30 between Birmingham (2023 USFL champion) and Arlington (2023 XFL champion). The season will feature eight teams, 40 regular-season games and three postseason contests.

ABC, ESPN, Fox and FS1 are UFL’s television partners.

Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Top 11 remaining free-agent wide receivers

Here are the top 11 remaining free-agent wide receivers:

If the Carolina Panthers can’t find pass-catching help in the trade market, then how does the open market currently look?

Here are the top 11 remaining free-agent wide receivers:

 

Panthers cut injury-plagued former Dolphins WR

He spent all but one week on Carolina’s practice squad last year.

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As the NFL offseason continues, teams are evaluating their rosters and re-arranging their depth charts throughout their organized team activities and minicamps.

With this, the Carolina Panthers have cut former Miami Dolphins wide receiver Preston Williams.

Williams, 26, was originally signed by Miami as an undrafted free agent back in 2019 following a collegiate career that saw play for Tennessee and Colorado State.

The wideout affectionately nicknamed “The Unicorn” played in three seasons for the Dolphins, totaling 787 yards and seven touchdowns on 56 receptions. However, in each of those seasons, he played just eight games due to injury.

Williams was part of last year’s training camp cuts after issues with the team over opportunities. He signed with Carolina’s practice squad a week later and spent nearly the entire season on it before being signed to the active roster for their Week 18 matchup with the New Orleans Saints.

There may still be a team that believes they can get something out of the receiver due to his size (6-foot-4) and age, but he’ll have to really make some strides to stick around and make an impact in this league.

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Panthers release 2 players on Thursday

The Panthers parted ways with QB Jacob Eason and WR Preston Williams on Thursday.

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The Carolina Panthers are back under the 90-man roster limit.

As officially announced on Thursday afternoon, quarterback Jacob Eason and wide receiver Preston Williams have been released. This brings the team’s current count to 88.

Eason, a fourth-round draft pick of the Indianapolis Colts in 2020, was claimed off waivers by the Panthers from the Seattle Seahawks prior to the start of the 2022 campaign. The 6-foot-6, 231-pound passer, in his lone appearance for Carolina, came in to relieve PJ Walker during the Week 6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams—where he threw for 59 yards and an interception.

Williams joined the Panthers not too long after Eason, signing on as a practice squad member on Sept. 5, 2022. He was active for just one game this past season, as he logged nine snaps—two on offense and seven n special teams—in the victorious finale against the New Orleans Saints.

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Panthers cut WR Ra’Shaun Henry from practice squad

With Preston Williams and Marquise Blair coming in, the Panthers released Ra’Shaun Henry from their practice squad on Monday.

Daviyon Nixon wasn’t the only youngster the Carolina Panthers had to cut ties with on Monday.

To make room for the two additions to their practice squad from earlier this afternoon, the team released wideout Ra’Shaun Henry. The move was first noted by Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network.

Henry signed on in Carolina as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Virginia. The 6-foot-3, 190-pounder appeared in 21 games for the Cavaliers between 2020 and 2021, amassing 41 receptions for 809 yards and seven touchdowns.

His release now officially clears the way on the Panthers’ practice squad for receiver Preston Williams and safety Marquise Blair. They are now the 15th and 16th members of the group, which also currently includes the following players:

  • TE Josh Babicz
  • OL Deonte Brown
  • S Juston Burris
  • QB Jacob Eason
  • CB Madre Harper
  • CB Tae Hayes
  • DE Drew Jordan
  • DE Austin Larkin
  • RB John Lovett
  • LB Arron Mosby
  • WR C.J. Saunders
  • C Sam Tecklenburg
  • TE Colin Thompson
  • WR Derek Wright

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Panthers add 2 veterans to practice squad

The Panthers added WR Preston Williams and S Marquise Blair to their practice squad on Monday.

The Carolina Panthers didn’t take Labor Day off.

Along with making an intriguing adjustment on their defensive line—picking up former New England Patriots defensive end Henry Anderson and cutting ties with 2021 fifth-round pick Daviyon Nixon—the team made two additions to its practice squad. Joining the group will be a pair of veterans—wide receiver Preston Williams and safety Marquise Blair.

Williams broke into the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Miami Dolphins in 2019. Before being waived back on Aug. 30, the Colorado State University product amassed 56 receptions for 787 yards and seven touchdowns over three seasons.

At 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds, Williams brings some more size to the wideout position for Carolina. The Panthers checked a bit of that box last week as well, having traded for the big-bodied Laviska Shenault Jr. courtesy of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Blair, on the other hand, hit the pros as a high draft pick—a second-rounder from that 2019 class. The 25-year-old, who sat in a crowded safety room following multiple injury-riddled campaigns, was also waived during last Tuesday’s big roster cutdown.

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9 recently cut players the Colts should consider adding

A look at some recently cut players the Colts should consider adding.

The Indianapolis Colts trimmed the roster down to 53 players but now it’s time to take a look at any potential targets to add that were recently cut on Tuesday.

Holding the No. 16 spot in the waiver wire order, the Colts may not have a ton of chances to grab quality players, but they will still have their eyes on a handful of potential additions. We took a look at some positions the Colts should consider adding to following roster cuts.

Here’s a look at nine recently cut players the Colts should consider adding:

Dolphins to release WR Preston Williams

This was expected if they couldn’t trade him.

As the Miami Dolphins continue to trim their roster to comply with the league’s 53-player limit that will be enforced at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, they’re moving on from a tenured offensive player.

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Dolphins are releasing wide receiver Preston Williams.

Williams was originally signed by Miami as an undrafted free agent back in 2019 and has spent three seasons on the roster. However, in each year, he played in just eight games, as injuries cost him time. When he was on the field, he recorded 56 receptions for 787 yards and seven touchdowns.

This offseason, with more talent in the wide receiver room, Williams didn’t appreciate his lack of opportunities early in training camp and voiced his displeasure.

It was reported that the Dolphins had been shopping Williams to other teams, but apparently, there weren’t any takers.

Be sure to keep up with all of Miami’s roster moves via the cutdown tracker.

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Three areas of intrigue for Dolphins vs. Buccaneers preseason opener

A few things that might pique Dolphins fans’ interest.

The Miami Dolphins kick off their preseason slate Saturday night in Tampa Bay against the Buccaneers. It will be Mike McDaniel’s inaugural in-game action as head coach, as he officially becomes the 11th (14th including interims) coach in franchise history.

While this is his 16th season as a coach in this league, McDaniel is a rookie as head coach and enters 2022 with a Dolphins team on a two-year winning record streak, despite missing the postseason both years. The Dolphins are looking for their first appearance in the playoffs since 2016 and seeking a victory in the tournament for the first time since the 2000 season.

In the 10 seasons Miami has played under a new coach, the franchise is 75-81 with four coaches leading the Dolphins to the playoffs in their first season – Don Shula in 1970, Dave Wannstedt in 2000, Tony Sparano in 2008 and Adam Gase in 2016.

McDaniel and the Dolphins will face a Buccaneers team just two seasons removed from a Super Bowl victory, and while they may be without Tom Brady because of personal reasons, this is still a strong litmus test for this Miami – a team that enters 2022 with their highest expectations in nearly two decades.

Here are a few things to be focused on during the contest.

Report: Dolphins have discussed trading Preston Williams, Lynn Bowden

Williams has already made his feelings on his position on the team known.

The Miami Dolphins spent this offseason improving their offense, which included acquiring a number of talented wide receivers.

Veterans Tyreek Hill and Cedrick Wilson Jr. joined Jaylen Waddle, who broke the NFL’s rookie reception record last year, forming a formidable top three. Beyond them, Miami has a number of players likely vying for three spots on the depth chart.

With fourth-round pick Erik Ezukanma and undrafted free agent Braylon Sanders impressing those attending training camp, there may be a few capable NFL receivers who may be out of jobs in South Florida. If that’s the case, the Dolphins would be smart to be taking calls on some of those guys.

According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, Miami is doing exactly that. Breer reports that the Dolphins have had trade conversations centering around Preston Williams and Lynn Bowden Jr.

Both players have gotten limited opportunities in training camp, to this point, and Williams has already made it known that he’s unhappy with his playing time.

While depth is a great thing for this developing team, there just aren’t enough spots to roster all of these talented players. Miami may be better suited taking other teams’ draft picks or players at positions of need.

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