Raiders planning to release WR Tyrell Williams at start of new league year

Tyrell Williams’ stint with the Raiders appears to be over after just two years.

Las Vegas plans to release Williams at the start of the new league year in March, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported.

Williams didn’t play in 2020 due to a shoulder injury that required surgery, and he’ll move on from the Raiders having just one campaign under his belt in Silver and Black. That 2019 year was a good one for him, as he caught 42 passes for 651 yards and six scores in a Raiders offense that sorely needed another receiver to go alongside him.

He appeared to get that help with the 2020 draft and Las Vegas’ first-round pick of Henry Ruggs III, but the pairing never materialized due to Williams’ injury.

With the salary cap expected to land in the range of $175-$185 million for 2021 — well below the number anticipated before the COVID-19 pandemic, back when the Raiders first signed Williams — teams should be expected to release a healthy amount of veterans with contracts similar to Williams’. He currently accounts for the fifth-highest cap number on the Raiders’ roster in 2021 at $11.6 million, and Las Vegas can save all but $1 million of that number by releasing him.

Still only 28 — he turns 29 on Friday — and coming off a year’s worth of rest, Williams should have something to offer to a team looking for a No. 2 receiver. With the lower cap considered, it’s unlikely he’ll fetch a deal close to what he landed with the Raiders, but it’s fair to expect Williams will land on his feet elsewhere this offseason.

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