What is the market for Cary Williams?

The two guys who are talked about as good as gone are Paul Kruger and Cary Williams.

The argument against keeping Kruger is that the market for him will be strong, the Ravens have a replacement they already invested a first round pick in -- Upshaw -- and Kruger may be a tad over-rated if you see him as a third down specialist who racked up his sacks against lessor tackles once Suggs got back on the field, but disappeared when matched up against better pass blockers.

The argument against keeping Williams is that they also invested a first round pick at his position in Jimmy Smith and they can't afford to throw money at him when they already have money in Webb and have a cheaper option in Smith.

Makes sense, but I wonder what kind of offer Williams will get?

I noticed Peter King didn't even list Williams among his to 50 free agents. But he did list...

49. Greg Toler
28. Sean Smith
23. Brent Grimes
22. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie
16. Chris Gamble
8. Keenan Lewis
3. Aqib Talib

Kruger is #2 on his list, by the way, just behind Clif Avril.

I'm not sure I totally buy his rankings, but it does raise a question about what kind of offer teams will make to Cary? Add to the list the possibility that Revis and Asomugha may both be on the market too, and it starts to feel like supply will outpace demand.

And if Reed doesn't come back I am intrigued about Webb going to safety -- I think he can be a ball hawk back there and as a former safety he does come up and tackle. I know it's been mentioned at times in the past and most people think Webb needs to stay at a corner where he's been so good. Of course that assumes after a couple knee surgeries that he can hold up out there on the edge. Under that scenario I would not mind bringing Williams back at the right price.

Peter King doesn't know anything about X's and O's.

Cary is a damn good player. He could be a solid number two for any team in the league.

Aaron Wilson ‏@RavensInsider

Ravens free agent corner Cary Williams drawing some interest as well from teams. He should do fairly well on open market

Cary Williams turned down a $5M a year deal, and even though I have been somewhat of a Cary defender on the board, that's the absolute max I would pay him with the depth we have at CB. Ellerbe is the better player, and we need to retain him first and for most.

Corners get paid these days. I'm sure he gets more than the 3/$15mil that the ravens offered him last year. He has started every game the last two years.

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Originally Posted by JMUpurkfool

Peter King doesn't know anything about X's and O's.

Cary is a damn good player. He could be a solid number two for any team in the league.

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this is a crazy good FA class for corners however, in addition to those listed, there is the looming chance that Nnamdi gets cut as well. I'd actually argue that the entire list of players above is better then Cary Williams. I was also one that said that Cary Williams was smart to turn down 3/15m last year. He will still surpass that total, but really not by nearly as much as I expected him to. He's a solid number 2 for sure,. but there are #1's otu there.

There are a lot more corners on the market than anyone expected. It's going to be interesting to see how much a team is willing to pay for Williams with all these other guys out there. He will absolutely get a lot of looks but will they pay him the big bucks over Sean Smith, DRC and Chris Gamble? I can't remember ever seeing this many good corners available.

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Originally Posted by Shas

... Under that scenario I would not mind bringing Williams back at the right price.

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I'd like Cary back too. Problem is two-fold (1) he already turned down a 3 year $15 mil. offer before the 2012 season (2) he likely had his best year yet in 2012. Williams is 28, and this could be his 1st and last BIG payday. I'm 99% sure he will not be a Raven in 2013... Bc

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Originally Posted by Paintballguy

Aaron Wilson ‏@RavensInsider

Ravens free agent corner Cary Williams drawing some interest as well from teams. He should do fairly well on open market

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I agree, he will get a deal somewhere. Not what he expects with so many corners on the market and leading the NFL in passes for first downs. McKelvin got between 4-5 million per year yesterday, that's what Cary can HOPE to get. Plus, thier is about 3 first round talents in the draft Rhodes, Milliner and Trufant for sure. He goofed not taking the Ravens 3 year 5 Million offer, he should of asked for the same $ but an extra year. Keenan Lewis will get about 7 million, best CB on the market led NFL in PD's. Also teams with cap space have drafted CB's recently, hurts his value.

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Originally Posted by ballhawk

Corners get paid these days.

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We may be seeing the corner being turned, so to speak. It may be that corners got paid those days, but not these days. Sounds to me like there is a lot of buyers remorse over Revis and Asomugha -- maybe even Antonio Cromartie to boot.

The number of corners hitting the market tells me that they are asking for more than their current teams are willing to pay. When the Ravens win the Super Bowl with Cary Williams and Cory Graham as their starting corners, it does raise a question about what they are worth. I'm not sure that corners will get paid these days.

It also makes me wonder if rules changes that prevent corners from being physical whether it makes it harder to separate good ones from great ones. Who are the great ones in the game right now? I'm not sure I even know for sure.

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Originally Posted by BcRaven

I'd like Cary back too. Problem is two-fold (1) he already turned down a 3 year $15 mil. offer before the 2012 season (2) he likely had his best year yet in 2012. Williams is 28, and this could be his 1st and last BIG payday. I'm 99% sure he will not be a Raven in 2013... Bc

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That's probably all true. But I guess the point of my thread is that this year looks oddly unique for the cornerback market. Williams is of the age where there won't be many opportunities to get a big deal...but there may not be a BIG payday out there for him this particular year. Furthermore, I wonder if the offer he turned down last year may be right round the best deal that he will find on the open market this year. Maybe he figures out that the deal he turned down is about his true market value right now, so why not stay with the team he knows? Or, at the very least, take a one year deal with the Ravens and test the market again next year.

Just asking.

I could see Cary being almost "forced" ino a 1 year deal so he can hit the market next year instead.