WR Mike Williams is released by the Chargers after seven seasons.

To comply with the pay limit before to the NFL’s new league year on Wednesday, the Los Angeles Chargers’ roster, which is heavily loaded with stars, needed some adjustments.
Wide receiver Mike Williams was dismissed by the Chargers to go under the cap, according to people with knowledge of the matter, as reported by NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero. Later, the group verified the information.

Williams signed a three-year, $60 million deal in 2022, and in 2024, the last year of that contract, he was supposed to contribute $32.46 million against the cap. His dismissal saves the organization $20 million on the salary cap.
Although the wide receiver is anticipated to test the market, Rapoport said that the Chargers would prefer to have Williams return.
When fit, Williams is a powerful field stretcher with the size-speed combination to wreak havoc on opposing defenders. He did, however, miss eighteen games in the previous two seasons. Williams only participated in three games in 2023 before to rupturing his ACL. Due to injuries, he missed four games during the regular season and the Chargers’ playoff defeat in 2022. Williams has only participated in one complete season in his seven years with the Los Angeles Rams.
The 6-foot-4 wideout is a big-play maker when he’s on the field. Williams has been the NFL’s top receiver since 2018 with 15.8 yards per reception (minimum 250 receptions). From 2018-2023, 22.1% of Williams’ targets were from deep passes, according Next Gen Stats (fifth-highest rate among players with at least 250 targets).
Williams’ big-play ability was sorely missed by the Chargers offense while he was not playing. But the cap burden made him an asset that the struggling Chargers could not afford to retain at that cost.
Williams ought to find a market in a league that’s always looking for explosives. Given that he is recovering from an injury, he fits the profile of a player who may get a one-year deal with incentives.

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