Indianapolis Colts to go after Cary Williams?

The Baltimore Ravens recent historic deal given to Joe Flacco puts the Ravens in an even more difficult financial position with their current crop of free agents, one of whom is cornerback Cary Williams.

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Even if the Ravens gave a less expensive deal to Flacco, Williams still would have likely been let go. The Ravens have depth at corner, and Williams is, quite frankly, an overrated player. He gives up too much space in coverage, and it is quite ridiculous for him to want $8-10 million on the free agent market. That’s the sum of money players like Brent Grimes and Aqib Talib should be set to make- not Williams, who, per the Pro Football Focus, allowed an 88.4 QB Rating last year.

I don’t think Williams is a bad player, but he’s average overall. Average cornerbacks don’t deserve to make a large sum of money, and average cornerbacks are expendable in deep secondaries of teams in a difficult cap position like the Ravens.

The Baltimore Sun is reporting that the Indianapolis Colts will “probably” go after Cary Williams, and the paper cites the Chuck Pagano link as one of the reasons. The main reason is the fact that the Colts have had issues at the cornerback position for a long time, and their only CB worth starting is Vontae Davis, who is certainly a good option as a starter.

For the Colts, Williams would make plenty of sense, and it might even be worth overpaying him. Again, they have huge issues at the cornerback position, and Williams would be an immediate, huge upgrade as a No. 2 corner even if he is merely average in coverage. The Ravens have indicated that they will allow Williams to walk, and that’s the best solution for this team. He is too expensive, especially for a team that has limited funds and more important free agents, such as Dannell Ellerbe, to keep. With other solid options on the roster like the budding Jimmy Smith, the Ravens are best off without him. As for the Colts, Pagano and Ryan Grigson need to at least see what his asking price is, and they will be crossing their fingers for a reasonable one from Williams.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter for more NFL updates @SorianoJoe.