Miami Dolphins add former Cowboys starting guard Connor Williams
After addressing several other positions, the Dolphins finally upgraded their weakest unit – offensive line - on Tuesday morning when they agreed to a two-year, $14 million deal with Dallas Cowboys left guard Connor Williams.
The deal includes $7.5 million in guaranteed money, according to agent Drew Rosenhaus.
In Williams, the Dolphins get an above-average NFL interior linemen who started 10, 11, 16 and 14 games the past four seasons.
Pro Football Focus rated Williams the 11st best guard in football last season, among 83 qualifiers.
PFF rated him the 11st best run blocking guard last season. In pass protection, he allowed just two sacks and 15 hurries in 624 pass blocking snaps. The 15 hurries were the fewest permitted by any guard playing who played that many snaps in pass protection.
Conversely, Austin Jackson permitted 29 pressures in 551 pass blocking snaps at left guard for the Dolphins last season after moving over from left tackle.
One big negative: He was called for 17 penalties last season (most in the league), including 11 holding infractions after being whistled for that infraction only 10 times in his first three seasons combined. He was called for only four penalties in 2020.
Those penalties resulted in him being benched for four games beginning in mid-November, a stretch when he played a total of 18 snaps before regaining his starting job for the final four games of the season.
With Williams at left guard and Robert Hunt at right guard, the Dolphins appear set at guard, with two caveats: NFL Network reported that the Dolphins haven’t ruled out using Williams at tackle, where he played at Texas. And it’s possible the Dolphins could move Hunt to right tackle, where he played the final half of the 2020 season.
Williams has been exclusively a guard during his four-year NFL career, all with the Cowboys.
Williams’ signing raises questions about the future of Jackson, who moved from starting left tackle to starting left guard a month into the season. He could be a backup guard or tackle.
The Dolphins continue to explore upgrades at tackle, where Liam Eichenberg and Jesse Davis were the starters last season.
The Cowboys drafted Williams, 24, in the second round, 50th overall, out of Texas in 2018. He came back strong from a torn ACL sustained in 2019.
TWO VETERANS STAY
The Dolphins also re-signed three of their own players on Tuesday: linebacker Duke Riley to a one-year, $3 million deal, linebacker Elandon Roberts to a one-year, $3.25 million contract and receiver Preston Williams to a one-year contract that could be worth as much as $1.99 million.
Please see our continually updated NFL free agent blog for updates throughout the day.
This story was originally published March 15, 2022 at 11:43 AM.
