Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reports that veteran DE Mario Williams will not be returning to the Dolphins in 2017. Sources tell Salguero that the Dolphins will release Williams before $3.5 million of his salary becomes guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2017 league year.
Williams never lived up to expectations in his first year with the Dolphins, so this doesn’t come as a big surprise, especially when you consider the amount of money Miami can save by moving on from him.
Beyond that, Dolphins DC Vance Joseph called Williams out for not playing hard enough this season and he was eventually benched.
Williams, 31, is a former No. 1 overall pick of the Texans back in 2006. He spent six years in Houston before signing a massive contract with the Bills in 2012.
After four years in Buffalo, the Dolphins signed him to a two-year, $17 million contract that included $4.85 million guaranteed last March. He stands to make a base salary of $8.45 million for the 2017 season.
According to OverTheCap.com, releasing Williams will free up $8.5 million in available cap space while creating $2 million in dead money.
In 2016, Williams appeared in 13 games for the Dolphins and recorded 13 tackles, 1.5 sacks and a pass defense. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 63 edge defender out of 113 qualifying players.
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