As the Dallas Cowboys see running back as one of their team needs this offseason, an interesting candidate to back up Ezekiel Elliott will be available this free agency. It isn’t something very unusual in the NFL to see certain promising players simply disappear for some reason and that’s precisely what happened to Karlos Williams, former Buffalo Bills running back.
During his 2015 rookie season with the Bills, Williams ran for 517 yards in 93 carries (5.6 yards per carry) and finished the year with seven touchdowns plus another two in the passing game. A fantasy football wonder for many fans out there, Williams’ future in the league seemed to be a successful one.
However, when 2016 came around, Karlos Williams wasn’t in shape for the offseason program. Then came a series of suspensions by the NFL after having multiple substance abuse problems. In March 2017, Williams received his third suspension which was lifted just a few days ago.
Ex-#Bills RB Karlos Williams, who had been serving a suspension for violations of the substance abuse policy since March 8, 2017, was conditionally reinstated yesterday, source said. The letter from the NFL stated he was humbled and committed to not squandering his second chance.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 21, 2019
Now Williams is set to hit free agency in March and will likely draw some interest after such an impressive rookie season back in 2015. Earlier in the week, Stephen Jones talked about needing a backup running back at some point of the NFL Draft. Extending Ezekiel Elliott is currently among the Cowboys’ priorities, but they need someone else to distribute the overwhelming workload Zeke’s been receiving since entering the league if they want their superstar to last longer.
Cowboys VP Stephen Jones was asked about Dallas’ biggest draft needs. He mentioned never having enough defensive line help, safety, tight end, backup RB in the later rounds and cornerback. But added there wasn’t a position they’d rule out
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) February 26, 2019
Karlos Williams should be an inexpensive backup given his history in the league. Despite serving a long suspension, he remains a 25 year old running back who’s already proven he can handle the job on Sundays. Williams isn’t likely to pick up where he left off and if he does get a chance by any team it probably won’t be a starting role.
I know the Cowboys have suffered a bit lately with Randy Gregory’s substance abuse policy violations. However, we can’t ignore a talented player who will be available and could save the team some draft capital when they need to address many depth issues late in the NFL Draft.
