Over the weekend, the Buffalo Bills did the unthinkable and released 2015 fifth-round pick running back Karlos Williams, despite the fact Williams rushed for 517 yards on 93 carries and seven touchdowns as a rookie. The Bills were not happy with the young running back’s commitment to the game.
One of the reasons why the Bills released Williams was because he arrived to training camp out of shape. While that was the tipping point of his release, Williams is also suspended for the first four games of the season due to violating the league’s substance-abuse policy.
On Monday, Williams cleared waivers and is now a free-agent. But who will take a shot on the young running back?
Here are three teams that could use Williams right away:
1. Indianapolis Colts
The Colts should be one of the first teams interested in Williams’ services, as their running game was non-existent in 2015. Last season, Indianapolis only averaged 89.9 yards per game, which was good for 29th in the league.
With that being known, you think that the Colts would upgrade the position in the offseason. That did not happen, despite Frank Gore being 33 years old and only rushing for 967 yards, which was the lowest for him since 2010.
Currently, the Colts have Robert Turbin, Josh Ferguson, Jordan Todman, and Trey Williams all backing up Gore. None of those guys give the impression they can step in and do the job.
Nevertheless, if the Colts want to alleviate pressure off of Andrew Luck, then adding a player like Williams will give them a competent 1-2 punch in the backfield.
2. New England Patriots
The Patriots’ running game was terrible last season only averaging 87.8 yards per game. Despite having Tom Brady, we saw last season in the AFC championship what happens when you don’t have a reliable running game.
The Patriots are known to use running back by committee and stuck to this motto in 2015, using LeGarrette Blount, Dion Lewis, Brandon Bolden, James White, and Stephen Jackson. Blount led all Patriot running backs with 703 rushing yards and six touchdowns.
But just like Gore, Blount is approaching 30-years old and that is when a running back’s production usually starts to decline. This offseason, the Patriots already suffered a blow to their backfield as Lewis is getting his knee cleaned up after tearing his ACL in Week 7 last season.
With Lewis out for the foreseeable future, the Patriots will once again be depending on running back by committee, but none of the backs currently on the roster are standouts. Williams can be that standout back for New England, giving them a red zone presence as he had four touchdowns in that area of the field last season. Belichick took a chance on Blount, so why not Williams and spurn his AFC East rival?
3. Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles, unlike the first two teams, aren’t in desperate need of a running back as they have five on the roster. Going into the season, all signs point to them keeping four running backs on the 53-man roster (Ryan Matthews, Darren Sproles, Kenjon Barner, Wendell Smallwood). However, when you take a look at those names, it gives you an uneasy feeling in your stomach. Mathews has injury concerns, Sproles is getting older, while Barner and Smallwood are unproven.
Last season, we saw what Doug Pederson and the Kansas City Chiefs were able to do in the running game with no Jamaal Charles. It was running back by committee with both Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware playing huge roles.
Therefore, if the Eagles were to sign Williams, he could play the role that Ware did in Kansas City being a red zone threat. We all know Philadelphia continues to have issues in the red zone, and Williams could solve that problem.
