The Broncos will not be exercising Sylvester Williams‘s $6.757MM option for 2017, a source tells Troy Renck and Cameron Wolfe of the Denver Post. As the Post duo details, GM John Elway and the Broncos like what Williams brings to the table, but are wary about committing significant money to a nose tackle.
[RELATED: Fifth-Year Option Decision Tracker]
Williams, 27, had perhaps his best season in 2015, starting 15 games for the Broncos and establishing new career bests in tackles (25) and sacks (2.5). Primarily a two-down player, Williams helped anchor Denver’s stout run defense, appearing in just under half of the club’s defensive snaps for the season.
As we’ve seen throughout this offseason, the Broncos have been careful about not overpaying in contract negotiations, even for players who were crucial cogs on their Super Bowl team. Brock Osweiler, Malik Jackson, and Danny Trevathan were among the players who departed in free agency, while the club has yet to work out new long-term deals with franchised pass rusher Von Miller or RFA linebacker Brandon Marshall.
In Williams’ case, the team would like to keep him around beyond the 2016 season, but didn’t want a $6.757MM cap charge on the books for him in 2017. Since the Broncos would prefer to extend him at a lesser salary, they weren’t interested in using that figure as a starting point in negotiations, as Mike Klis of 9NEWS writes.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.