8 LA Rams players who won’t be back in 2022

Player 2 – Tough to go home

My oh my, what a difference a year makes. A year ago, defensive back Darious Williams was red hot, one of the best defensive backs in the NFL. Paired with teammate Jalen Ramsey, it was difficult to find a more matched set of cornerbacks in the league.

Ramsey was able to shut down the best wide receiver on the opposing offense. Williams was able to make opposing quarterbacks pay by jumping routes and either deflecting the pass or intercepting the pass and getting the defense off the field.

While Williams has played fewer games, he is far more active in tackling this year. In 2020, he had 44 tackles in 16 games. So far this year, he has 59 tackles in just 12 games. So why would the Rams let a young and very gifted defensive back sign elsewhere? To be honest, the fact is that he has struggled in coverage. From four interceptions last year, Williams has yet to pick off a pass this season.

Williams will fetch a fine price

In 2020, 54.2 percent of passes targetting his receiver found their mark. This year, 61.3 percent of the passes are completed. While his struggles may be attributable to a mid-season injury, he has not seemed to be near as in control of the secondary this year as last season. Of course, he has much better teammates in terms of coverage with John Johnson III and Troy Hill. This year, his complements have been Taylor Rapp, David Long Jr., and Donte Deayon.

Williams would be an excellent player to bring back to the 2022 Rams defense. But, much like John Johnson and Troy Hill in 2021, Williams is an unrestricted free agent who is expected to fetch a high price in the free agency market. The LA Rams invested top dollar to retain Williams in 2021, and I’m not certain that they got his top performance.

Of course, things can and often do change between now and the start of the new NFL season. I think that the LA Rams will hesitate to commit big bucks to re-sign Williams. But other teams will not,