A key piece of the Rams secondary will not be back in 2022. Darious Williams is finalizing a three-year contract with the Jaguars, returning to his hometown of Jacksonville. According to Ian Rapoport, the deal is for three years and has a base value of $30 million. It’s worth up to $39 million, however, which would be an average of $13 million per year.
That would put him in the top 20 of all cornerbacks in terms of annual salary. He also gets $18 million fully guaranteed at signing.
Rapoport added that Williams had higher offers, but he wanted to return home to Jacksonville so he chose the Jaguars.
Darious Williams is coming home: The #Ram CB is expected to sign with the #Jaguars, source said, his hometown. He gets a 3-year deal worth $30M — $39M max. $18M fully guaranteed. He had higher offers, but chose home. Deal done by Damarius Bilbo & Kelton Crenshaw of
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 16, 2022
Williams was considered the top cornerback remaining after J.C. Jackson landed with the Chargers, so it’s no surprise to see there was a lot of interest in him. Last season, he played 14 games with the Rams and made a career-high 71 tackles, three of which went for a loss.
He didn’t have an interception, however, after pulling down six in his previous two years. Williams broke up nine passes and recovered one fumble, allowing 11.4 yards per catch and a passer rating of 100.1 in coverage, according to PFF.
Williams originally joined the Rams in 2018 after they claimed him off waivers from the Ravens. He made three starts in 2019 and showed promise, and in 2020, he was promoted to a full-time role.
He excelled that year, intercepting four passes in the regular season and another one in the playoffs against the Seahawks. Last season was a down year for Williams, but if he plays the way he did in 2020, the Jaguars are getting a quality defender in the secondary.
