He seems overpaid

Is Darious Williams the most overpaid player on the Rams salary cap?

Under normal circumstances, Darious Williams would have been an obvious cap casualty candidate in L.A. Rams training camp this fall, if not being cut weeks ago. However, the Rams guaranteed Williams his entire salary and roster bonus in 2025, making any decision to release him entirely based on whether or not he’s the worst cornerback expected to make the team.

Does that make Darious Williams the most overpaid player on the Rams roster right now?

Darious Williams: $8 million cash paid in 2025

It does not seem like a lot of money for an NFL player, but keep in mind that Williams has the 19th-largest cap hit among all cornerbacks in 2025 ($9.166 million) and the seventh-highest cap hit on the current roster.

When the Rams reunited with Williams as a 2024 free agent, after he had been released by one of the worst teams and defenses in the NFL for a dip in his performance + raise in his compensation, they signed the 31-year-old to a three-year, $22.5 million contract with $15 million guaranteed.

Williams had just a $4.6 million cap hit in 2024, a reasonable number for a middle-tier CB2, but that number has doubled in 2025.

And it’s all guaranteed. If the Rams release Williams, it will not save them cash or cap space. It could only be a trade or cutting their losses.

There are no savings until the Rams part ways with Williams in 2026.

Darious Williams: 32-year-old coming off of an injury

Williams played in 12 games in 2024, recording 45 tackles and one interception. He missed five games with a hamstring injury, an indication of something that could bother him again in 2025 as those tend to linger.

On 59 passes thrown in his direction, Williams allowed a passer rating of 101.7, the worst mark of his career. I don’t like to put too much weight into “passer rating allowed” because that is a) an interpretation and b) could be heavily altered by one or two plays that might not even be his fault.

But we don’t need stats to know that Williams was not even a middle-tier CB2 last season.

He’s now 32, at a position that favors youth + athleticism, and he needs to put a hamstring injury behind him. With rumors of Jalen Ramsey floating around — possibly the worst thing that Les Snead could do right now — it would seem like repeating the Darious Williams mistake but with an even more expensive player.

Is Darious Williams the most overpaid Ram?

He’s not as overpaid as Colby Parkinson, but Parkinson is more likely to have future value than Williams. At this point, it seems like Williams is going to be in a fight for his career even despite the fact that it doesn’t benefit L.A. financially to release him and the Rams lacking a clear upgrade on the roster.

It is not atypical for Snead to spend money where it doesn’t belong, but Darious Williams was a mistake we could see coming.