Bills cut Mario Williams; place franchise tag on Glenn

The Buffalo Bills have informed defensive tackle Mario Williams that he will be released, ESPN’s Josina Anderson reports.

The value of the 2016 franchise tag for an offensive lineman is just over $13.7 million, which is immediately charged to the club’s cap figure this year.

Buffalo saves $14.5 million in cash and $12.9 million in cap space with Williams’ release.

After four seasons together, the Buffalo Bills parted ways with defensive end Mario Williams on Tuesday. Their salary cap number for this year was projected to be in excess of their adjusted salary cap before Williams was released.

That left the team with more work to do to if they want to have money to spend on left guard Richie Incognito and other players. He had his best season with them in 2015, when the Bills led the National Football League in rushing.

Glenn has been a fixture at left tackle for the Bills since 2012, when he joined them as a second-round draft pick from Georgia. Glenn was the Bills’ recipient of the Ed Block Courage Award for the 2015 season, which is voted on by teammates. He often was asked to play out of position under Ryan, dropping into coverage more frequently and not being asked to rush the passer, which has been his forte.

In answer to the New York Giants fans asking this, I will say that I think the Giants should try to sign Williams, but that I wonder whether they can. The guys on defense, we laugh and talk about anything. Past year though, he struggled and had just five sacks in 909 snaps, according to NFL.com.

At 31 years old, Williams doesn’t exactly fit the mold of “young, exciting player” that Bears G.M. Ryan Pace has thus far pursued for big bucks in free agency (see Pernell McPhee as an example), but Williams could provide a spark to an unimpressive Bears’ pass rushing group. The Bills also had three rushers surpass the 500-yard mark (LeSean McCoy-895, Tyrod Taylor-568, Karlos Williams-517) for the first time since 1962. “I’m prepared for anything because I know I’m going to prove a point, and that is not even a question in my mind”, he said.

The Associated Press reported in December that Buffalo was planning to jettison Williams, so this move comes as no surprise.