Falcons add former Georgia Bulldog to active roster

The Atlanta Falcons have added former Georgia Bulldogs safety Shawn Williams to their active roster.

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The Atlanta Falcons have added former Georgia Bulldogs safety Shawn Williams to their active roster. Williams had been serving as a member of Atlanta’s practice squad before he received the promotion.

Falcons’ starting safety Erik Harris is out for the remainder of the 2021 season with a torn pectoral muscle. Atlanta is 6-8 this season and is battling for one of the NFC’s final wildcard spots. The Falcons are scheduled to face the Detroit Lions this Sunday.

Williams has played in the NFL for eight seasons. He was a starter with the Cincinnati Bengals (2015-2019) before taking a backup role last season. He missed the Arizona Cardinals’ roster to begin this season.

The Falcons value Williams’ experience and production. He has 12 career interceptions and has 424 career tackles. Williams was very productive in 2018 and 2019, when the former Georgia Bulldog recorded over 100 tackles in consecutive seasons.

Williams will compete with Atlanta safeties Richie Grant, T.J. Green, Jaylinn Hawkins, and Duron Harmon for playing time. Atlanta announced Shawn Williams’ promotion via Twitter:

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Falcons sign former Georgia Bulldog safety

Another Dawg on the Falcons: Atlanta has signed former Georgia Bulldogs safety Shawn Williams to their practice squad.

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The Atlanta Falcons have signed former Georgia Bulldogs safety Shawn Williams to their practice squad.

Shawn Williams has played in the NFL for eight seasons. He was a starter with the Cincinnati Bengals (2015-2019) before taking a back-up role last season. He missed the Arizona Cardinals’ roster this season.

The Falcons value Williams’ experience and production. He has 12 career interceptions and has 424 career tackles. Williams was very productive in 2018 and 2019, when the former Georgia Bulldog recorded over 100 tackles in consecutive seasons.

Shawn Williams will compete with Atlanta safeties Richie Grant, TJ Green, Jaylinn Hawkins, Erik Harris, and Duron Harmon.

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Arizona Cardinals cut former Georgia Bulldogs DB

The Arizona Cardinals have cut former Cincinnati Bengals and Georgia Bulldogs safety Shawn Williams.

The Arizona Cardinals signed former Cincinnati Bengals safety Shawn Williams to a one-year contract this offseason. Now, the Cardinals have cut Shawn Williams.

Williams briefly joined fellow Georgia Bulldog star A.J. Green in Arizona.

Shawn Williams has played in the NFL for eight seasons. He started with the Bengals from 2015-2019 before taking a back-up role last season. Now, Williams will look for another opportunity in the NFL.

Some teams may value Williams’ experience and production. Shawn Williams has 12 career interceptions and has 424 career tackles. Williams was very productive in 2018 and 2019, when the former Georgia Bulldog recorded over 100 tackles in consecutive seasons.

Budda Baker will start at safety for Arizona. The position opposite Baker will likely go to Jalen Thompson.

The Cardinals additionally released safety Chris Banjo. Banjo had a career-best 48 tackles last season.

Former Cincinnati Bengals strong safety Shawn Williams is looking for a new NFL home. Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

What’s next for Shawn Williams? Now, it is a waiting game. He will look for another NFL home. Several teams across the league need help at safety including the Carolina Panthers.

Williams may consider retirement or he could play right away for a team that suffers an injury at safety.

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Cardinals activate Shawn Williams from NFI list, sign WR Greg Dortch

Williams had not yet practiced in training camp this year and Dortch has bounced around between four different teams in two seasons.

The Arizona Cardinals announced a pair of roster moved on Tuesday, adding a couple of players who can practice.

The first was activating safety Shawn Williams from the non-football injury list. He began camp there. Exactly what injury he was dealing with was not revealed. Head coach Kliff Kingsbury said multiple times last week that Williams would not be out long.

He apparently was able to pass his physical.

They also added a wide receiver to the roster. With Rico Gafford still on the COVID list, the team announced the addition of Greg Dortch.

Dortch is a diminutive receiver with experience as returner. He is 5-7 and 175.  He has bounced around the league since he went undrafted out of Wake Forest in 2019.

He signed originally with the New York Jets but has since spent time with the Carolina Panthers, Los Angeles Rams and Atlanta Falcons. He appeared in two games with the Panthers in 2019 and returned five kicks and four punts.

His small but has some speed. He was clocked between 4.49 and 4.52 seconds in the 40-yard dash at his pro day.

He will get some reps at the returner jobs and likely with the third-team offense as the Cardinals get ready for their first preseason game at the end of next week.

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Cardinals waive DL Ryan Bee, place S Shawn Williams on NFI

The two roster moves by the Cardinals give them one vacancy with which to sign a player.

The Arizona Cardinals announced a pair of roster moves Tuesday after players reported for training camp. It leaves them with one vacancy on the roster.

They waived defensive lineman Ryan Bee and they placed safety Shawn Williams on the non-football injury list.

Bee was signed in April before the draft. According to the NFL transaction report Tuesday afternoon, he was waived with an injury designation.

Williams signed this offseason as a free agent after eight years with the Cincinnati Bengals. What injury he has is not known, nor the severity. However, he will continue to count against the offseason roster. There will not be a roster replacement for him.

Bee’s release, though, gives the Cardinals a roster spot.

They signed two players Monday — cornerback Daryl Worley and center Marcus Henry — after a tryout.

A third player, cornerback Alexander Myres, who played one game for the Detroit Lions last season, also worked out for Arizona Monday.

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New Cardinals S Shawn Williams’ contract is for league minimum

The Arizona Cardinals added veteran safety in NFL free agency. His one-year deal is for the league minimum with no real guarantees to make the team.

One of the Arizona Cardinals’ additions in free agency was veteran safety Shawn Williams. He joins the Cardinals after eight years with the Cincinnati Bengals, where he began his career as a special teamer and then became a starter on defense.

His role changed again in 2020, as he transitioned back to only special teams. After making more than $4 million last season, he gets a league-minimum contract with the Cardinals.

His contract does not secure him a spot on the roster this coming season.

According to Over the Cap, his salary in 2021 will be $1.075 million, which is the lowest amount a player with his experience can earn. None of it is guaranteed. He gets $68,750 to sign. If he is on the Week 1 roster, he will get a roster bonus of $68,750, giving him $137,000 in addition to his salary.

His contract, worth a total of more than $1.2 million, qualifies for salary cap purposes as a veteran exemption. His deal will count only $987,500 against the cap if he makes the team. If he does not, the team will carry a dead money charge of only $68,750.

With the contract set up the way it is, offseason expectations are for him to have to compete for a spot on the roster and that his expected role will be on special teams, although his experience gives them options at safety if there are injuries like last season.

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Arizona Cardinals sign former Georgia Bulldogs DB

The Arizona Cardinals have signed former Georgia Bulldogs and Cincinnati Bengals safety Shawn Williams

The Arizona Cardinals have signed former Cincinnati Bengals safety Shawn Williams to a one-year contract. Williams will join fellow Georgia Bulldog star A.J. Green in Arizona.

Shawn Williams has played in the NFL for eight seasons. He started with the Bengals from 2015-2019 before taking a back-up role last season. Now, Williams will battle for a starting safety position in Arizona.

The Arizona Cardinals value Williams’ experience and production. Shawn Williams has 12 career interceptions and has 424 career tackles. Williams was very productive in 2018 and 2019, when the former Georgia Bulldog recorded over 100 tackles in consecutive seasons.

Budda Baker is projected to start at safety for Arizona. The position opposite Baker is up for grabs. Shawn Williams provides valuable depth for the Cardinals at the very least. Additionally, Williams has experience playing on special teams.

Williams’ main competition for a starting role will be Chris Banjo. Banjo is returning to Arizona in 2021 after having a career best 48 tackles last season.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported the news of Shawn Williams’ signing with the Arizona Cardinals.

Oct 28, 2018; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals strong safety Shawn Williams (36) intercepts a pass intended for Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans (13) in the first half at Paul Brown Stadium. Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

New Cardinals S Shawn Williams follows WR A.J. Green again

Williams and Green were teammates in college and with the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Arizona Cardinals made the signing of safety Shawn Williams official on Wednesday and he was introduced to the media. The former Cincinnati Bengal is reunited with receiver A.J. Green, who spent a decade with the Bengals until signing with the Cardinals this month.

The funny thing is that this isn’t the first time Williams has followed Green onto a team.

It is actually the third time they will be teammates. The other two times were coincidental.

It started in college.

Both went to Georgia. Green was there from 2008-2010 before being selected fourth overall in the 2011 draft by the Bengals.

Williams was his teammate in 2009-2010.

Two years into Green’s career in Cinncinati, the Bengals drafted Williams in the third round in 2013.

They were teammates until both had their contracts expire this offseason.

Green signed a one-year deal with the Cardinals the first week of free agency. Williams followed him.

From Georgia to Ohio to Arizona, the two have crossed the country together.

Their first three seasons with the Bengals, they made the postseason. Can they do it again?

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Cardinals agree to terms with former Bengals safety Shawn Williams

Arizona Cardinals add free agent safety Shawn Williams, who played eight seasons for the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Arizona Cardinals made an addition to their group of safeties in free agency. On Monday, the team announced it agreed to terms with veteran safety Shawn Williams.

Williams has played eight seasons in the NFL, all with the Cincinnati Bengals. Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph was his position coach in 2014 and 2015.

Williams began his career primarily as a special teams player. He began to get defensive playing time in 2015, his third season, and then was a starting safety from 2016-2019 for Cincinnati. In 2020, his role shifted back to special teams, where he played 305 snaps, 66% of the Bengals’ snaps on special teams.

He had 110 and 114 tackles in 2018-2019 and five interceptions in 2018 for a league-leading 131 return yards. He has 12 career interceptions.

While Budda Baker and Jalen Thompson are both slated to start at safety, since Thompson struggled all season with an ankle injury, Williams gives Arizona someone with extensive starting experience to fill in if needed, or even compete for the starting job. While Chris Banjo was fine in Thompson’s place last season, Williams gives the Cardinals a higher ceiling of production as well as special teams depth.

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Report: Bengals’ Shawn Williams suspended for stepping on a Dolphins player in Week 13

Bengals safety Shawn Williams received a suspension from the NFL.

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The NFL has suspended Cincinnati Bengals safety Shawn Williams for his role in Sunday’s bench-clearing skirmish with the Miami Dolphins.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported the news and that Dolphins defensive lineman Teair Tart was also suspended for the same action.

Williams was caught in the fray after a second special-teams penalty by teammate and wideout Mike Thomas caused some retaliation by the Dolphins.

A longtime Bengals veteran, Williams was busted on camera intentionally stepping on the calf of a downed Dolphins player.

The NFL issued a statement:

Both Bengals head coach Zac Taylor and Dolphins head coach Brian Flores had plenty to say about the fight in the wake of Miami’s win:

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