The Seattle Seahawks have released Cary Williams heading into Week 14, cutting the cornerback just one year into his contract after signing him in the offseason. Seattle comes in after a big win against the Vikings in Week 13 and the team is hoping that running back Marshawn Lynch can return from an injury before the end of the season.
The Seahawks are in a wild card spot in the NFC after the win and the team looked dominant against the Vikings and now could make a run into the playoffs once again. The Seahawks made some changes after the game, as the team announced on Monday that Cary Williams has been released. According to NFL.com, the Seahawks opted to let go of Williams after signing him to a three-year, $18 million deal in the offseason and they will pay him $7 million for 10 games of work.
The team paid Williams $3.5 million for a signing bonus and a $3.5 million fully-guaranteed base salary and now he is out of Seattle. The team has scratched Williams the past two weeks and benched him in Week 11 and now the team will go with DeShawn Shead, who started for Williams the past two games. Head coach Pete Carroll said that the team was "more comfortable" with DeShawn Shead and Jeremy Lane going forward over Williams and the move will not save Seattle any money on the cap. Williams is out after making 46 tackles and recording a sack with the team.
Carroll also gave an update on running back Marshawn Lynch, who has been sidelined after having surgery for an abdominal injury. Thomas Rawls has been starting in place of Lynch and after the surgery, reports had Lynch out for about a month, which would mean he could potentially return for the end of the regular season. Carroll said that Lynch is "doing really well" in his recovery and that he is now out of Philadelphia after having the surgery there.
Carroll did not give a hard timetable for Lynch to return, but added that the team will see "how it goes the next few weeks" and how Lynch recovers. Lynch should be able to return if the team makes the playoffs and that would give the Seahawks a nice one-two punch with Rawls, who has 786 rushing yards this season and has been getting the bulk of the carries with Lynch out.
Russell Wilson has continued to play well over the last stretch of games and he helped lead the team to a big victory against the Vikings. Since Lynch has been out, Wilson has 11 touchdowns and zero interceptions and he comes in after putting up 274 yards and three touchdowns in the win against the Vikings.