Chargers release Mike Williams

Chargers release Mike Williams

The Los Angeles Chargers are expected to release wide receiver Mike Williams, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport first reported Wednesday. He was expected to have a $32 million cap hit in 2024, Rapoport notes.

Sources: The #Chargers releasing WR Mike Williams, making him a free agent. Williams, on the books for a $32M cap hit, becomes a top FA WR available. pic.twitter.com/tiMhvOrqDb

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 13, 2024

The Chargers entered Wednesday $27 million under the salary cap, which it needed to get over by the start of the new league year at 4 p.m. EST today. By releasing Williams, Los Angeles will save $20 million in cap space, but still needs more work to do in order to reach that threshold.

Williams was just limited to three games last year after suffering a season-ending ACL injury against the Minnesota Vikings. He hauled in 19 catches, 249 yards and one touchdown. Over his seven-year Chargers tenure, he had 309 total catches for 4,806 yards and 31 touchdowns. He posted a pair of 1,000-yard seasons–in 2019 and 2021, where he had 1,001 and 1,146 yards, respectively–while tallying 10 receiving touchdowns in 2018.

Williams will be entering his age-30 season and is coming off a serious injury, plus the Chargers’ offensive identity is changing with Jim Harbaugh in the building. So it makes sense that they are moving on from him, cap reasons aside. The wide receiver class in the draft is also loaded; Los Angeles owns the No. 5 pick with seven other selections (two Day 2, five Day 3), where it could look to supplement Williams’ big play potential.

It’s also foreseeable to see Williams sign a one-year deal on a cheaper price tag for a team in need of a big target–paging you, Baltimore, New England, Chicago, etc.

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This is a breaking news story. Stay tuned for updates.

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