Veteran Bills defensive tackle Kyle Williams appears to have played his last snap of the 2015 season, as head coach Rex Ryan said today that the team is expecting to place Williams on injured reserve. As Mike Rodak of ESPN.com notes, Williams’ injured knee is not responding to treatment.
Williams confirmed today that he’s planning to undergo surgery for a meniscus issue, tweets Rodak. According to Tyler Dunne of the Buffalo News (Twitter link), the longtime Bill thinks rehab will last a few months following the surgery, and anticipates being back on the field next season.
While Williams has no plans to retire, there’s no guarantee that the 32-year-old will remain in Buffalo next season. The former fifth-round pick, who has been with the Bills since they drafted him in 2006, has two years left on his contract, with his base salary set to increase to $6MM in 2016 and $6.3MM in 2017. The club could create $5MM in cap savings by cutting him in the offseason, though I’d imagine the two sides would try to work out a reduced salary before considering parting ways.
While one Bills defensive lineman looks likely to head to IR, the other Williams on the line should return to action this season. Ryan said today that defensive end Mario Williams will miss this Sunday’s game against the Chiefs, but his foot injury isn’t expected to be a season-ender.
I don’t see why, if healthy, they wouldn’t bring him back next year. Given the prices of the other DL, he’s probably the best per dollar spent of the lot.
The fact that he’ll be 33 and coming off knee surgery is the main argument against the Bills keeping him at that price, but if the team is confident he can continue to be productive, he could very well continue to play out that contract.
There’s a lot to be said for a quality veteran presence in the interior of the line, and I suspect Williams knows that, if he were to be released, he would not make much more than what the Bills would ask him to take in a reduced salary. My guess is he’ll back for around $3MM or so.