Cary Williams' Eagles tenure got off to a rocky start but he ultimately evolved into one of the defense's more vocal on and off-field leaders in 2013. (Image courtesy of Philly.com)
Over the course of the next two weeks we will examine each of the Philadelphia Eagles 2013 free-agent signings and off-season additions and look at how they contributed to this year's NFC East championship team both on and off the field.
CB: Cary Williams
Cary Williams' 2013 season finished quite differently than it began.
The cornerback who was the Eagles prized offseason signing finished the season with 67 tackles and three interceptions after missing a majority of the team's spring OTA's and minicamps while drawing ire of the Philadelphia fan base.
Williams missed several days while picking out sconces for his newly built home, to have dental work done and attend his daughter's dance recital. Granted, as soon as the sessions became mandatory, Williams was present and accounted for, but he didn't exactly get off on the right foot with Eagles fans.
It's almost fitting then that it was a split decision to commit a horse-collar tackle that cost the Eagles 15 yards and Williams $15,000 ended his season in the waning moments of the team's wild card loss to the New Orleans Saints.
"I did whatever I could to get the guy down," Williams said after the game. “I’m the safety valve. That’s what I do, man. It was just me and him out there. I made the best decision I possibly could. I was just trying to get him down, whether it was horse collar or whatever. I didn’t want him to score and at least give our defense a chance to stop them.”
The Saints took over at the Eagles' 48 and proceeded to kill the next four minutes and 54 seconds before kicking the game-winning field goal with no time left.
In between, the 6'1, 190 pound Williams showed that he's not afraid to get his hands dirty in run support, but struggled with inconsistency in pass coverage.
Williams is due $4.75 million in 2014 and the Eagles must make a decision by March 16th whether or not to bring him back at that rate.
Signing Grade: B
While Williams was inconsistent, he still showed up with some of his biggest games of the year against the likes of Dez Bryant and Calvin Johnson late in the season. Brandon Boykin's emergence has made Williams a little more expendable, so it will be interesting to see whether or not the Eagles choose to bring him back in 2014 at such a high cap number.
Matt Lombardo is the Editor-In-Chief of Eagledelphia and also an on-air personality on 97.5 FM The Fanatic in Philadelphia. Join the conversation and follow Matt on Twitter.
