Buffalo Bills Sign $98 Million Star Player For 2024 Season On A Year Contract…
NFL: Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers. Dec 17, 2023; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers defensive tackle DeShawn Williams (96) is introduced before the game at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
The Buffalo Bills added to their depth on the defensive front on Thursday with the signings of tackles DeShawn Williams and Austin Johnson to one-year contracts.
The Bills needed defensive tackles behind starters Ed Oliver and DaQuan Jones after losing reserves Poona Ford, Linval Joseph and Tim Settle to free agency, and Jordan Phillips considering retirement.
Williams, 31, completed his lone season for the Carolina Panthers in 2023, starting 10 of the 16 games he played and totaling 33 tackles, one sack and seven quarterback hits.
An undrafted free agent out of Clemson, Williams played four games for the Cincinnati Bengals in 2016 before spending the next three seasons with the Denver Broncos. He has career totals of 148 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, nine sacks, 30 QB hits, nine passes defensed and one interception in 66 games (44 starts). Johnson, 29, played the past two seasons for the Los Angeles Chargers, starting all 17 games in 2023 and totaling 46 tackles, including two tackles for loss. The Tennessee Titans selected him in the second round (43rd overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft out of Penn State, where he was Jones’ teammate.
Johnson played for the Titans (2016-19), New York Giants (2020-21) and Chargers, totaling 241 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, eight sacks, 17 QB hits and 10 passes defensed in 116 games (55 starts). Bills general manager Brandon Beane said Johnson could improve much like Jones did in his first season with the team in 2022. “I think even DaQuan, you’ve seen in our system improve his pass rush, and we do think Austin can kind of follow that same trajectory,” Beane said. “Brought him in for a visit. Great young man. You know, he talked about the importance of a winning culture, winning team, and obviously DaQuan was helping sell, you know, our situation.”
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Williams spent his rookie season in Cincinnati in 2016, but his next regular season action did not come until 2020 with the Broncos. The former UDFA remained in Denver for three years, starting 34 of his 46 games with the team. His final Broncos campaign produced a career-high 4.5 sacks, and it resulted in a one-year Panthers contract.
In Carolina, Williams started 10 of 16 games and logged a healthy 44% snap share while playing alongside Derrick Brown. The Clemson product recorded 33 tackles and one sack, earning a PFF grade of 50 along the way. While his sack total dropped, his 18 QB pressures (per PFF) marked a personal high and fell in line with those of his previous campaigns. Williams will look to replicate that rotational production in Buffalo.
The Bills entered free agency with a number of question marks along the defensive interior. DaQuan Jones was quickly retained on a two-year deal, however, and Buffalo has since added Austin Johnson. Williams will look to carve out a role alongside that pair and Ed Oliver, who is on the books through 2027 via the lucrative extension he inked last offseason.
Buffalo entered Thursday with just under $9MM in cap space, a figure which will be lowered to an extent with the Johnson and Williams deals now official. Those two will give the Bills experienced depth along the D-line, though, as the team transitions to new contributors in a number of areas on that side of the ball.