{"id":72261,"date":"2025-05-23T07:16:10","date_gmt":"2025-05-23T07:16:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/72261\/"},"modified":"2025-05-23T07:16:10","modified_gmt":"2025-05-23T07:16:10","slug":"chargers-could-cut-former-first-round-legend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/72261\/","title":{"rendered":"Chargers Could Cut Former First Round Legend"},"content":{"rendered":"

Despite signing him back this offseason, the Los Angeles Chargers could cut former first-rounder Mike Williams before the 2025 regular season. Bleacher Report believes<\/a> the team will release Williams at least after the NFL Preseason, since the Chargers got new weapons like Tre Harris<\/a> and Keandre Lambert-Smith, which could make him expendable. Head Coach Jim Harbaugh was not afraid of releasing Williams last offseason, and he won\u2019t have the same fear this year, as they are in a rebuilding stage with his new regime and made promising strides in his first season, making it to the wild-card round. The Chargers brought back Williams in hopes of adding some veteran stability for quarterback Justin Herbert in the aerial attack.<\/p>\n

Originally selected in the 2017 NFL Draft, the Clemson product spent the 2024 campaign as a journeyman between the New York Jets and Pittsburgh. Since the Jets were enduring a losing season, the Steelers acquired him in a trade to provide some temporary relief for the postseason. Just like the Chargers, the Steelers were a first-round exit, and since they didn\u2019t have long-term plans for him, they decided to let him walk in free agency. It\u2019s hard to tell what the future holds for the veteran, but if the Chargers decide to release him, he should get some adequate suitors.<\/p>\n

\"\"Dec 8, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Mike Williams (18) reacts after a first down pass reception against the Cleveland Browns during the third quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
\nREPORT: Chargers Could Cut Former First Round Legend Mike Williams \u2013 5 Next Possible Fits
\nPotential Destinations
\nKansas City Chiefs<\/p>\n

The Chiefs need another wide receiver to bolster the offense since the team has been dealing with receiver issues. Marquise Brown is probably on the trade block this season<\/a>, and if he doesn\u2019t perform up to standards, they could sign Mike Williams for temporary relief if he becomes available. Williams won\u2019t outplay Rashee Rice nor Xavier Worthy, but he\u2019s a tall receiver similar to what they had in DeAndre Hopkins<\/a> last year, so they\u2019re hoping he can have a better campaign than he did.<\/p>\n

Dallas Cowboys<\/p>\n

Despite trading for George Pickens<\/a>, the Cowboys must realize they\u2019ve got themselves two No. 1 receivers in him and CeeDee Lamb<\/a>. The team still lacks receiver depth, and while they brought Jonathan Mingo for relief, he has yet to prove that he\u2019s reliable. It\u2019s never a bad idea to add another wideout, and Williams will likely fit the bill.<\/p>\n

Washington Commanders<\/p>\n

Quarterback Jayden Daniels has a capable wide receiver room to help him achieve success again in the league next season. However, receivers like Noah Brown and KJ Osborne could be expendable before the 2025 regular season<\/a>. Michael Gallup came back this offseason, but there\u2019s no real guarantee of his abilities after taking a year off. Williams might not be the long-term future of Washington, but it would be enough to be a reliable WR3 behind Terry McLaurin<\/a> and Deebo Samuel.<\/p>\n

Buffalo Bills<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Buffalo Bills are still in the market for a wide receiver, and they\u2019re not planning on bringing back Amari Cooper. Khalil Shakir<\/a>, Joshua Palmer and Keon Coleman are all locks for the 53-man roster, depending on the situation, but the same can\u2019t be said about Curtis Samuel. Williams might not be their main go-to option, but it\u2019s another opportunity to thrive behind a top 5 quarterback.<\/p>\n

Baltimore Ravens<\/p>\n

Just like the Bills, Williams could thrive with the Ravens in the right situation. The team signed DeAndre Hopkins this offseason for temporary relief for a postseason run, so there\u2019s no guarantee he\u2019ll be there for 2026. It looks like the Ravens will continue to add a variety of veterans each season behind Zay Flowers<\/a> and Rashod Bateman if they haven\u2019t found a homegrown potential talent. Williams could be the next to fit into this offensive system if he becomes available.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Despite signing him back this offseason, the Los Angeles Chargers could cut former first-rounder Mike Williams before the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":72262,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2064],"tags":[849,2090,241,5403,5404,436,7,467,922,1014,262,2453,2444,2443,5859,6,4000,10420,7186,10421,4648],"class_list":{"0":"post-72261","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-chargers","8":"tag-baltimore-ravens-news","9":"tag-buffalo-bills-news","10":"tag-chargers","11":"tag-chargers-featured","12":"tag-chiefs-featured","13":"tag-dallas-cowboys-news","14":"tag-football","15":"tag-george-pickens","16":"tag-kansas-city-chiefs-news","17":"tag-los-angeles","18":"tag-los-angeles-chargers","19":"tag-los-angeles-chargers-news","20":"tag-losangeles","21":"tag-losangeleschargers","22":"tag-mike-williams","23":"tag-nfl","24":"tag-rashee-rice","25":"tag-ravens-featured","26":"tag-terry-mclaurin","27":"tag-washington-commanders-news","28":"tag-zay-flowers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114555924407460923","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72261"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72261\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72262"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}