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The release of Bills offensive lineman Daryl Williams on Monday morning certainly reverberated inside the Giants’ facility. The 29-year-old could also be the answer to the team’s prayers when it comes to finding a snug piece to add to what — for a decade now — has been a jumbled and incomplete puzzle.
Williams is exactly what the Giants need. He is healthy, durable and can play right tackle or move inside to guard.
The Bills parted ways with Williams to save $6.3 million on their 2022 salary cap and used some of that savings to give center Mitch Morse a two-year, $19.5 million contract extension. Clearly, the Bills prioritized Morse, 29, ahead of Williams.
The Giants, more than any other team in the NFL, know if Williams is worth pursuing. Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll, the new general manager and head coach, respectively, along with first-year offensive line coach Bobby Johnson, all came over from Buffalo, where Williams played the past two seasons. He started in all 33 regular-season games, plus all five starts in the postseason.
Williams spent the first five years of his NFL career with the Panthers, who selected him in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He went to the Bills in 2020 on a one-year, prove-it deal, and signed a three-year, $28.1 million contract extension last March. One year later, however, Williams is gone — although, there is always a possibility he re-signs with Buffalo for a lower price.
Williams played 600 snaps at right guard last season, and 571 snaps at right tackle. The Giants have openings at both spots.
Now for the big question: Can the Giants afford him? They are not going to break the bank for any one player because they do not have the salary cap resources to do so.
Schoen has already pared about $25 million off the cap, and the Giants head into free agency about $7 to $8 million under the cap. Schoen has said he wanted to eventually free up $40 million in cap space to participate in free agency to some degree, and also so he can comfortably operate the team’s roster.
There are looming questions remaining on the Giants’ payroll. For instance, trading away cornerback James Bradberry saves $12.1 million on the cap, while parting ways with running back Saquon Barkley saves $7.2 million. In Barkley’s case, however, the money is completely guaranteed as the fifth-year option — something teams interested in acquiring the 25-year-old will have to consider.
This front office did not make Barkley the second-overall pick in 2018 and thus does not have the ties or loyalty to him that the previous regime held. For $7.2 million, the Giants might be able to find two running backs. Barkley might make more sense for one year on a Super Bowl-contending team this season, which the Giants are not.
This is roster-reduction season before the free agency frenzy begins Wednesday. Elsewhere on Monday, the Packers released Billy Turner, who started 43 games the past three seasons, splitting time between right guard and right tackle. He also played all 810 of his snaps in 2021 at right tackle.
Turner, 30, is not likely to command big bucks on the open market. It is another option for the Giants to consider.
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