Raiders plan to release Tyrell Williams and clear up cap space, according to report
As expected, the Las Vegas Raiders plan to release wide receiver Tyrell Williams, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
Williams came over from the Los Angeles Chargers in 2019 and hasn’t played much since joining the Raiders as a free agent.
He signed a four-year, $44 million contract with the Raiders. He was to earn a base salary of $11.6 million this season, but the Raiders will release the 28-year-old when the start of the new league year begins on March 17.
In 2019, Williams played the first four games of the season before he was hampered with a foot injury. He returned in late October and finished with 64 receptions for 651 yards and six touchdowns.
Williams was ready to play in 2020, but was sidelined for the season because of a shoulder injury that required surgery.
“Tyrell just couldn’t unfortunately stay healthy,” Gruden said in a teleconference in 2020. “He had a foot problem all of last year and his shoulder does require surgery. He could have potentially tried to play through it with a harness. But when you have that much restricted movement, it’s hard to catch the ball away from your body. I think we all agree putting him on the IR was the prudent thing to do.”
The move was expected. Spotrac’s Michael Ginnitti had previously said, “I can’t imagine Tyrell Williams is allowed to steal any more money from this team, especially with $11.6 million to be saved by moving on. His price tag is likely too steep for a trade, so an outright release is probably in order.”
In early August, Williams said he felt “good coming into this season” and was excited about playing before the shoulder injury.
The Raiders will only take a $1 million dead cap hit after Williams’ release.
According to Over The Cap, the Raiders’ cap space is $18 million over the cap, but that number will change after Williams’ release and other potential moves.
This story was originally published February 11, 2021 at 3:47 PM.
