The Oakland Raiders made a couple of solid free agency additions with the likes of Trent Brown and Richie Incognito. However, it’s looking like the team didn’t hit on every acquisition. Tyrell Williams was brought in to complement Antonio Brown, but obviously, that didn’t happen. Williams was then supposed to be the team’s number one wide receiver. He started off the season decently, but an injury slowed him down and he’s now close to insignificant.
Williams is only averaging 48.9 receiving yards per game and only 27 total receiving yards in the last two games. A couple of key drops have also significantly hurt the team, especially against the Houston Texans. When the Raiders signed him, they handed a massive four-year $44 million contract. That makes him the 18th highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL. Considering he ranks 68th in the NFL in total receiving yards, he’s massively overpaid. Fortunately for Oakland, they could cut him after the season and not have any dead cap.
Would the Raiders Cut Williams?
Williams missed a number of games due to a foot injury earlier in the season. It also seemed to hamper his production when he first returned. However, a foot shouldn’t hurt his ability to catch passes when they’re placed in his hand. The Raiders clearly like him and he’s proven to be productive in the past. If Brown was still on the team, it could be a very different conversation being had.
It’s possible that general manager Mike Mayock tries to renegotiate Williams’ contract after the season. He stills has a lot of upside as a number two receiver if the team finds a true number one in the offseason. There’s no doubt Williams has been a massive disappointment for the team. He was hyped heading into 2019 thanks to an impressive training camp. The Raiders will likely give him one more chance to prove his worth in 2020.
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Williams Is Looking to Turn Things Around
Luckily for Williams, the Raiders have four games left for him to turn things around. A few productive games would seriously help his chances of keeping his big contract. He recently spoke with NBC Sports to talk about how he’s hoping to get more targets.
“I never want to be that type of person,” Williams said. “Of course I want to get more targets. I want to be able to stretch the field a bit more and get that deep threat out there. I think that comes with talking and communicating with coaches and being on the same page with Derek [Carr] throughout the week. That should allow us to focus and hit on those opportunities.”
Williams understands that he needs to take things one step at a time. He’s got all the talent to be a good receiver, he just needs to figure out how to get open in this offense.
“You have to focus on each play as it comes and let the game come to you,” Williams said. “I’m going to go out there and play hard and leave everything I have out there, but I don’t like focusing on when targets are coming and when they’re not because that takes me out of my game. I have to just play and after the game evaluate and see what we did do and what we could’ve done better.”
With the playoffs still in reach, Williams starting to make plays would certainly help the team’s chances. He needs to start playing like his money depends on it.
“The season’s long and there’s still time to get back on track,” Williams said. “These two home games are obviously huge. They’re against teams that are, like us, fighting for a playoff spot. The rest of the way for us, they’re all playoff games in a sense.”
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Will the Raiders Let Tyrell Williams Go After 1 Season?