Cary Williams could be solid veteran option for Ravens

Two years after signing a three-year, $17 million contract with the Philadelphia Eagles, former Ravens cornerback Cary Williams was released on Tuesday, leading to immediate speculation of a potential reunion in Baltimore.
The Ravens’ issues at cornerback last season were no secret and Williams left the organization with no ill feelings two offseasons ago, making it plausible that the sides could reconcile at the right price. Williams, 30, is coming off a season in which he struggled for the Eagles’ 31st-ranked passing game, but the Ravens could view him as a nice veteran insurance policy while still aiming to add a cornerback for the future in the first few rounds of this year’s draft.
Williams has started all 16 games in each of his last four seasons and transformed himself from a former practice-squad member and special-teams player to a starting cornerback for the Super Bowl XLVII champions. The Ravens offered Williams a three-year, $15 million contract prior to his final year in Baltimore, but the Washburn College product elected to play out the 2012 season before accepting a better offer from the Eagles a little over a month after the Super Bowl.
Though the Ravens would ideally view Williams as a No. 3 cornerback, the status of veteran Lardarius Webb could change that as Baltimore tries to restructure his contract currently slated to carry a $12 million cap figure during the 2015 season. If general manager Ozzie Newsome were to part ways with Webb to clear cap space, a veteran like Williams could become even more attractive as the Ravens would want to avoid entering the draft needing a cornerback to start immediately.
Opinionated and sometimes brash on the field, Williams butted heads with Chip Kelly over how much the Eagles head coach was making players work during practices last fall, but the Ravens’ familiarity with the veteran defensive back might give them an advantage over other potential suitors who might be scared off by his attitude.
Ultimately, such a reunion would come down to money more than anything else as the Eagles cut Williams before he was scheduled to make $6.5 million in base salary this coming season. He would need to take substantially less in any potential return to the place where he established himself as an NFL-caliber cornerback.
Given the Ravens’ need at the position, turning to a durable and known commodity who’s already familiar with Dean Pees’ system would appear to be a solid short-term option while they could look to the draft to find a cornerback of the future.