Seattle Seahawks: What’s the future hold for Cary Williams?

After being benched, and then left inactive, Cary Williams’ days with the Seattle Seahawks are numbered. Just don’t expect him to be released right away. 

The Cary Williams experiment was fun. And by fun, I mean that it was like being forced to watch an awful movie like Waterworld over and over again.

Williams actually got off to a good start this season. While his play in run support was questionable, he played well in coverage. He was targeted just five times combined in Seattle’s first three games.

Then the decline began.

All of the new technique improvements that Kris Richard had taught him in training camp disappeared. Williams began playing off the line instead of pressing.

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That was followed by mental mistakes that you wouldn’t expect rookies to make. Williams would follow players out of his zone, leaving a hole in the defense. He’d also release players that never left his zone.

The end result, after giving up big play after big play, was that Williams was benched. Then last week, he wasn’t even in uniform.

Earlier today, Pete Carroll wouldn’t comment on if Williams would be active for this weeks’ game against the Vikings. With Shead, Burley and Lane all moving ahead of him on the depth chart, the chances are low that we’ll see much of Williams this season.

There is also no reason for Williams to play more; not this season, and especially not next season. He was brought in to be a bridge. Tharold Simon and Jeremy Lane were both hurt. They younger players weren’t ready.

That isn’t the case any more. Shead and Burley have stepped up. Lane is healthy again. Simon finally had surgery, and will be ready for next season. Tye Smith continues to develop.

So what do you do with Williams? The easy answer is to cut him. It is tempting to suggest that Williams could be released the next time the Seahawks need a roster spot, but that isn’t likely to happen.

Williams’ 2015 salary is guaranteed. Cutting him now means that the Seahawks will be paying him to play for someone else. They might as well hold on to him in case disaster strikes and they need additional depth at the position later in the season.

Williams is owed $5 million for 2016, and $6 million for 2017. There is no way that he’ll play for the Seahawks at those numbers. Those contract numbers also remove any trade value he might have had in the offseason.

All of this makes for an easy look into the proverbial crystal ball. Williams’ days in Seattle are numbered, but the number is still fairly large. He won’t be back next year, but it would be genuinely surprising to see him gone before this season is over.