Marcus Williams‘ third campaign with the Ravens has not gone according to plan. The veteran safety has found himself a healthy scratch for multiple weeks, and he is on track to see his contract terminated in the coming offseason. 
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Williams and the Ravens recently agreed to a restructure, Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap reports. A release taking effect after June 1 was the likely outcome of this situation once Williams fell out of the team’s plans on defense. In the meantime, though, Williams’ cap impact will be lowered. His base salary has been dropped from $12MM to $2.1MM, Fitzgerald notes, creating immediate savings. Players designated as post-June 1 cuts immediately become free agents, but their teams do not see the additional cap space until after that date.
Now, as a result of the restructure, Baltimore will have $9.9MM in space which would not have otherwise been available during the early portion of the offseason. The team will free up the remaining $2.1MM once Williams’ contract is officially off the books on June 2. This move will result in $6.72MM in dead money charges in 2025 and ’26.
Following a five-year run in New Orleans, Williams was one of the top free agents in 2022. He inked a five-year, $70MM deal with the Ravens and as such faced high expectations upon arrival. The former second-rounder matched his career high with four interceptions in his first Baltimore campaign, one which was limited to 10 games due to injury. Last year, Williams only made 11 appearances while spending much of the year at less than full strength. His starting spot was not in jeopardy early in the current campaign, but part of the team’s midseason defensive adjustments was the decision to bench him.
Through the closing stages of the regular season and into last night’s wild-card game, Baltimore has used Kyle Hamilton and Ar’Darius Washington as safety starters. That setup is set to continue the rest of the way, and Williams will no doubt welcome a fresh start this spring (although his market has obviously taken a major hit). The 28-year-old’s next contract will surely fall well short of the $15MM annual average value he secured from the Ravens. With Williams set to depart, meanwhile, safety will be a position to watch during the offseason for the team this offseason.