The LA Chargers cut WR Mike Williams, the franchise shared today.
Sources: The #Chargers are releasing WR Mike Williams, making him a free agent. Williams, on the books for a $32M cap hit, becomes a top FA WR available. pic.twitter.com/4f2EMNH8Fp
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 13, 2024
The move saves the organization 20 million dollars while incurring a dead money charge of almost 12.5 million dollars. NFL rules require Los Angeles to be under the NFL’s 255.4 million dollar salary cap by today, as with the wide receiver release, they secured the cap.
Pass-rusher Khalil Mack will keep his place on the team for the upcoming campaign after agreeing to restructure his contract to save salary cap space.
The NFL franchise from LA picked Williams with the 7th selection at the 2017 NFL Draft. In 7 years, Mike, popular for his contested catch ability, formed 1 of the NFL’s best receiver tandems with Keenan Allen. The team rewarded him with a 3-year, 60 million-dollar deal two years ago.
But the last 2 campaigns for the wide receiver have been plagued with injuries. Mike fractured his back on a hit in the final minutes of the team’s regular-campaign finale vs. Broncos in the 2022 campaign, sidelining him for the wild-card postseason defeat vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars.
In the past campaign, Williams tore his ACL in Week 3 and missed the rest of the season.