Key Lions Defender Agrees to Substantial Pay Cut for 2021 Season

With money tight, the Detroit Lions have been trying to band together to keep as much cap space as possible for the 2021 season, and another savvy move has been made to allow for this to happen by the front office.

Detroit defensive lineman Nick Williams has agreed to take a substantial pay cut for the 2021 season. According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, Williams is going to be hanging around and cutting his pay to $1.25 million from $4.1 million.

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Here’s a look at the numbers:

In terms of the contract, every little bit helps the Lions, who currently sit at just over $10.8 million in cap space according to Over The Cap. The Lions haven’t spent big this offseason, and that’s to be expected given an $182 million dollar salary cap.

Having Williams provide the team some breathing room could make for at least one more addition to the roster.

Williams Was Excited to Remain With Lions

Williams has been one of the players who has firmly supported the team’s coach from the beginning, so it’s neat to see him want to stay. Recently, he tweeted about being excited to taste kneecaps in 2021. Unless he was referencing a shift in his diet toward cannibalism, it was a clear shout-out to head coach Dan Campbell and the 2021 Lions.

After Campbell was hired, reactions from players were sparse but one of the first reactions did come in from Williams on Twitter fast about the move, and it was clear that the lineman is very fired up for his new coach. The reason? He’s blue-collar and “straight from the mud” just like a player.

As Campbell takes over the team, it’s clear that he is going to be a favorite of the players as well as the fans given this innate ability to connect. As he enters the team, everyone has heard about his ability to mesh with players, but this adds a new level to it given how quickly it seems to have happened.

Detroit has cut multiple players in recent days, but Williams will now be likely to stick on a brand new contract and try to keep himself in position to help what has proven to be a very needy defensive line in recent years.

Williams’ Statistics

If Campbell and Williams can mesh, it would be huge for the Lions given what he means to the team’s defensive front n terms of depth. Williams has bounced around the NFL a bit early on in his career. He started his career as a seventh round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2013, and by 2014, had joined the Kansas City Chiefs. After spending a few seasons there, Williams departed for the Miami Dolphins, and spent a season there before signing with the Chicago Bears in 2018. While with Chicago, Williams had a solid 2019 season, with 6 sacks and 42 tackles.

Known for his ability to be a pass rush disruptor, Williams might not offer the Lions much against the run, but he can get after the pocket as his numbers in 2019 prove. After putting up minuscule stats everywhere else, Williams came into his own with the Bears last season, setting career highs in every category. The hope is with more starting time, the 30 year old can continue to play a big role and come into his own in the league with Detroit. This past season, Williams put up 1 sack with just 23 tackles, so obviously, the team could stand to use more from the lineman.

2021 could be a make or break season for Williams, but given he will be sticking around on a new contract, it will be fascinating to see what he does with the opportunity.

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