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As NFL.com framed it, "Mike Williams quit the Syracuse football team under Doug Marrone midway through the 2009 season. Five years later, Marrone is giving him another chance."
The Bills announced they have acquired Williams from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Multiple reports indicate Buffalo will give up a sixth-round draft pick to secure his services. From a fantasy football perspective, it's not hard to envision this being a positive for both sides -- although the Bucs will have some work to do to fill his spot.
Still, the Buccaneers' new staff clearly was not enamored with Williams on and off the field and Buffalo seems quite eager to add to their receiving corps.
"Mike Williams is a competitive, tough wide receiver who has the size and athleticism to add competition to our receiver position group," said Marrone. "We feel Mike is a player who has the ability to help our team improve."
Off the field circumstances led to Williams leaving Syracuse prior to the 2009 season. Soon after his college career was over Williams declared for the 2010 NFL draft where the Buccaneers made him a fourth-round pick (101st overall).
"With regard to our time at Syracuse, I feel that is in the past for both of us," said Marrone. "Mike has an opportunity to get a fresh start to his career here in his hometown and regain his form as a productive player in the National Football League. We look forward to getting Mike into the facility and start our work preparing for the 2014 season once the players are free to report on April 22."
Williams signed a huge six-year, $40.5 million contract last July. The Buccaneers would have incurred a huge salary cap hit if they cut Williams. By trading Williams, they cleanly get out of a bad deal.
It's a reasonable gamble for the Bills too. Buffalo only owes Williams $1.8 million in 2014 pay, and that includes a hefty workout bonus. That pay jumps all the way to $6.8 million in 2015, so Williams will have to perform well to stay on the team. There's ample reason to believe he's at least capable of that; he has done it before.
As a rookie Williams provided instant production posting 65 receptions for 964 yards and 11 touchdowns to lead the league in all three categories among rookies. He finished second in the voting for AP Rookie of the Year honors.
He had more than 60 receptions in each of the next two seasons and came closest to the 1,000-yard receiving plateau in 2012 when he had 996 receiving yards and another nine touchdowns. Last season Williams appeared in only six games after tearing his hamstring last October.
As BuffaloBills.com's Chris Brown notes, though he is not a burner (4.5 speed), Williams is adept at getting behind defenses with his sharp and effective route running. He's also exceptional at high pointing the ball, which has made him an effective red zone target in the passing game.
Whether the acquisition of Williams reduces Buffalo's need to add a dynamic receiving threat outside remains to be seen. Adding size at receiver this offseason was seen as a priority for Buffalo and though Williams stands just 6-1 he does play much bigger than his listed height.
The Bills already have Stevie Johnson, T.J. Graham, Marquise Goodwin and Robert Woods at receiver before making a move for Williams and they were reportedly interested in DeSean Jackson before Jackson signed with Washington. As Profootballtalk.com's Josh Alper noted this morning, there's been some question about whether Johnson remains in the team's plans after a rough 2013 season, although the Bills have said that they are excited about his future in Buffalo.
After the season, Brown told a local radio station that the coaching staff was unable to convince Johnson to buy into the team concept. Marrone subsequently told reporters he contacted Johnson to clear the air in February.
"We had a great conversation," Marrone said. "I told Stevie, 'Hey, listen. I'm excited about getting started with you. I'm excited about you coming in and getting healthy and get this team going. ... And whatever else you're hearing, it's not coming from me."
That said, it was coming from Brown, whose title is "lead journalist," but who is a member of the Bills' marketing and broadcasting department. And Brown's comments fell in line with what Buffalo News staffer Tim Graham and other reporters had heard about Johnson's act wearing thin among his teammates before Johnson missed the last two games because of his mother's death.
Johnson led the Bills with 52 receptions, but failed to gain 1,000 yards for the first time in four seasons. He was bothered by back, hamstring and hip injuries and missed a game because of them.
Meanwhile, the Buccaneers made it clear in recent months they were growing weary of Williams, due to a long series of off-field issues.
In case you haven't been following along, Williams was arrested in December on trespassing and criminal mischief charges and agreed to pay more than $43,000 in damages to the landlord of his rental home, two things which led new head coach Lovie Smith to call Williams' pattern of behavior "disturbing."
Williams was also stabbed in the thigh by his brother recently and this week, an insurance company filed a lawsuit related to those home damages for Williams to deal with.
The Bucs' statement on today's trade makes that clear they were ready to move on.
"We thank Mike for his contributions to the Buccaneers over the last four seasons. At this time we felt this was best for both sides and we wish Mike well going forward," Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht said in a statement from the team.
But now they need to find someone to pair with Vincent Jackson.
As NFL.com's Gregg Rosenthal suggested, they are strong candidates to draft a wideout with the No. 7 overall pick, with Sammy Watkins and Mike Evans the most likely candidates.