Posted by ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson
To make room for 35-year-old cornerback Ty Law, Denver jettisoned 24-year-old cornerback Jack Williams. Williams played in all seven games this season. He was splitting time as the nickel cornerback with rookie Alphonso Smith. Williams was a fourth-round pick in 2008.
The move reunites Law with new Denver coach Josh McDaniels. McDaniels worked with the defensive backs early in his tenure in New England and he worked closely with Law.
Denver is very happy with starting cornerbacks Champ Bailey and Andre Goodman. But the nickelbacks have struggled some. So, Law was brought in to help in nickel and dime packages.
Still, the release of Williams is somewhat risky. The team only has four cornerbacks and three are over 30. If Denver suffers an injury at the position, it could regret releasing Williams, who likely will garner interest on the waiver wire Monday.
There’s no doubt Law is a better player than Williams right now and this move shows that McDaniels is serious about fixing problems. Denver’s pass defense had one bad game, last week at Baltimore, and McDaniels made a move.
That’s admirable. McDaniels is clearly comfortable with Law and he felt Williams wasn’t getting the job done. It’s another reminder that McDaniels has a short leash with players from the Mike Shanahan era. He’s going to try to win on his terms.
So far, it’s worked so it's difficult to criticize. But there’s a risk factor here.
To make room for 35-year-old cornerback Ty Law, Denver jettisoned 24-year-old cornerback Jack Williams. Williams played in all seven games this season. He was splitting time as the nickel cornerback with rookie Alphonso Smith. Williams was a fourth-round pick in 2008.
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Denver is very happy with starting cornerbacks Champ Bailey and Andre Goodman. But the nickelbacks have struggled some. So, Law was brought in to help in nickel and dime packages.
Still, the release of Williams is somewhat risky. The team only has four cornerbacks and three are over 30. If Denver suffers an injury at the position, it could regret releasing Williams, who likely will garner interest on the waiver wire Monday.
There’s no doubt Law is a better player than Williams right now and this move shows that McDaniels is serious about fixing problems. Denver’s pass defense had one bad game, last week at Baltimore, and McDaniels made a move.
That’s admirable. McDaniels is clearly comfortable with Law and he felt Williams wasn’t getting the job done. It’s another reminder that McDaniels has a short leash with players from the Mike Shanahan era. He’s going to try to win on his terms.
So far, it’s worked so it's difficult to criticize. But there’s a risk factor here.
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Bill Williamson
Williamson joined ESPN.com in 2008 after four seasons covering the Denver Broncos for the Denver Post. He previously covered the Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks.
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