Getty Ravens Safety Marcus Williams intercepts the ball against the Steelers.
General manager of the Baltimore Ravens Eric DeCosta faced a tough challenge heading into 2024 free agency do to a very tight cap situation. The Ravens have some large contracts on the books that include QB Lamar Jackson, OT Ronnie Stanley and CB Marlon Humphrey, but according to Bleacher Report safety Marcus Williams is the “most overpaid” on the roster.
BR’s Brad Gagnon wrote an article entitled “Every NFL Team’s Most Overpaid Player Following Peak 2024 Free Agency” which picked a player from each team that was considered the most overpaid.
For the Ravens, Gagnon wrote, “This was a toss-up between Williams and cornerback Marlon Humphrey, both of whom had a limited impact last season.”
Marcus Williams: highest-graded Ravens defender vs. the Bengals (78.2) 📈
He points out that they are both 27 years old, but the deciding factor according to Gagnon was, “Humphrey is more reliable and more decorated.”
Williams is entering year three of a 5-year, $70 million contract giving him a $14 million average per year salary. “Williams is not remotely living up to his $14 million average annual salary as the eighth-highest paid safety in the sport,” according to Gagnon.
The safety carries a $18.72 million cap hit heading into the 2024 season, which ballooned from his $7.26 million 2023 cap hit. The cap hit gives him the third highest cap number on the Ravens’ roster, only trailing Jackson and Humphrey.
Ravens & Marcus Williams Marriage Has Not Produced Desired Results
Williams was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the second round of the 2017 draft and was an immediate impact player as a rookie. The star safety played 15 games as a rookie and had 4 interceptions, 7 pass defends and 73 combined tackles.
One of things that made Williams so good was his durability and reliability as he played a minimum of 14 games in all five of his seasons with the Saints. Williams was a staple in the Saints defense those five years and wreaked havoc as a ball-hawking safety.
In five seasons with the Saints, Williams played 76 games, had 15 interceptions, 38 passes defended and 320 combined tackles.
Marcus Williams is closing in on performing at his 2022 level. He had 5 tackles and 2 passes defended in the Ravens Wk 12 win over the Chargers, and played 100% of the defensive snaps for the second week in a row.
#Ravens #RavensFlock #BaltimoreRavens
Notwithstanding his strong play the Saints chose not to pay the veteran safety and the Ravens swooped in with the 5-year, $70 million contract that made him one of the highest paid safeties in the league.
His tenure as a Raven started off strong as he had 33 tackles and 3 interceptions in the first 5 weeks of the season. Unfortunately, Williams suffered a dislocated wrist against the Cincinnati Bengals that forced him to miss 7 weeks, the first major injury of his NFL career.
Luckily, he returned in Week 13 and played well to finish the season strong. Comparatively, Williams 2023 was an up-and-down season as he dealt with lingering issues throughout the season that forced him to miss multiple stints.
The veteran had two injury stints of three weeks each (Weeks 2-4 and 7-9) and played limited snaps against the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars.
When healthy and able to play, Williams is worth every penny, however, through two seasons he has not been able to stay on the field for a whole season.
Ravens Safety Group Lost a Starter to Free Agency
The Ravens safety group in 2023 was one of, if not the best in the league. Kyle Hamilton had a breakout season in his sophomore season and became a leader of the defense.
Hamilton was drafted in the first round of the 2022 draft with the hopes that he would become exactly what he has emerged into. The idea was that he and Williams would form a dynamic duo patrolling the field.
With the injury to Williams to start the season the Ravens had another gem break out in seventh round pick and fourth year player Geno Stone.
Stone was one of the hottest defenders to start the season and had 6 interceptions in 9 weeks. He stepped up in the wake of the Williams injury, and as a result, his stellar play allowed the Ravens to not rush back their $70 million player.
Unfortunately for the Ravens, Stone was in a contract year and his talent was noticed by division rival Bengals who swooped in and lured him away. The Ravens only have two true safeties on the roster currently, and because of this could look to another in the draft.
Yet, there is hope Williams will regain his form heading into the season and stay healthy. If healthy, he and Hamilton will create the formidable duo the Ravens hoped for.