With Bashuad Breeland, the Kansas City Chiefs‘ No. 1 outside cornerback for the past two seasons, hitting the free agent market last week, the AFC champions may be in for some reshuffling in the secondary in 2021.
The team has already shown interest in former Tennessee Titans first-rounder Adoree’ Jackson and now the Chiefs’ front office is closely examining the market of another cornerback, albeit with a much different skill set.
According to NJ.com beat reporter Mike Kaye on Sunday, the Chiefs will host San Francisco 49ers slot corner K’Waun Williams for an official free agent visit on Tuesday, March 23.
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Williams Has Been an ‘X-Factor’ for the 49ers
As Kaye noted in his tweet, the New York Jets, now coached by Williams’ former 49ers defensive coordinator of four years, Robert Saleh, have expressed at least some interest in the 29-year-old cover man. According to NBC Sports’ Matt Maiocco on Monday, the Detroit Lions are also in the running for Williams’ services.
However, Grant Cohn of SI’s All 49ers, who called Williams “the X-factor from Saleh’s recent defenses” and a player he “loved” using as a blitzer, did highlight a few concerns with potentially signing the seventh-year veteran:
He’s a nickelback who will turn 30 next season, and he’s small (5’9″), which means he’s not suited to play man-to-man coverage — he’s much better playing zone. And he never has played a full 16-game season in his career. And the season will be 17 games this year.
There clearly isn’t much of a market for Williams. Most teams have very little cap space, and can’t afford to pay millions of dollars on aging nickelback who misses games.
Which means Williams might accept a one-year deal worth the veteran’s minimum — roughly $1 million.
At 5-foot-9, Williams would become the shortest cornerback on roster, though still equal to that of All-Pro safety Tyrann Mathieu, who has found success as a chess piece moving around Steve Spagnuolo’s defense.
Last season, the University of Pittsburgh product was limited to only eight games (four starts) due to a two-game suspension, as well as ACL and ankle sprains. For his career, Williams has compiled 249 combined tackles, 23 pass breakups, 10 forced fumbles, 6.0 sacks and three interceptions.
L’Jarius Sneed, Tyrann Mathieu Could Benefit From Williams
While he isn’t going to be a starting outside cornerback anytime soon, his best skills are intriguing to a team like the Chiefs because of what it enables them to do with their current pieces. Specifically, the ability to allow Mathieu to continue to roam and kick 2020 rookie standout L’Jarius Sneed to the boundary full time across from Charvarius Ward or another free agent signing.
Health and financials will ultimately decide whether Kansas City wants to move forward with Williams. While the cornerback market has been reasonably active thus far, the large paydays have been minimal, with only four players earning deals worth $8 million or more annually to date. Notable names such as former teammate Richard Sherman, Casey Hayward and Malcolm Butler are also still unsigned and figure to swallow up more available cap space of interested suitors. Those developments could drive Williams’ market down even further.
Retaining Breeland is also still on the table for the Chiefs according to FanSided’s Matt Verderame, but at discounted free agent prices in the days and weeks to come, signs point to the Chiefs continuing to explore ways to solidify its depth at the position.
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Chris Licata is an NFL contributor covering the Kansas City Chiefs from enemy territory in Denver, Colorado. Follow him on Twitter @Chris__Licata or join the Heavy on Chiefs Facebook community for the latest out of Chiefs Kingdom!
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Chiefs Making Pitch to Sign 49ers ‘X-Factor’ Cornerback: Report