Bills release Jonathan Williams in surprise move

After all signs pointed to a significant role for him, Jonathan Williams has been cut by the Buffalo Bills.

LeSean McCoy is clearly the No. 1 running back for the Buffalo Bills, coming off a season where he finished sixth in the league in rushing (1,267 yards). But a run-heavy offense made the role of his backup fruitful too, as Mike Gilislee averaged 5.7 yards per carry and scored eight touchdowns on the ground last season.

With Gilislee gone to the New England Patriots in free agency, Jonathan Williams was in line to take that No. 2 role this year. Bu according Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Bills have made a surprising decision to cut Williams.

Williams was drafted by Buffalo in the sixth round in 2016 out of Arkansas, but a rib injury delayed his entrance into game action and had just 27 carries in 10 games.

Williams was arrested for DUI in July of 2016, but he was found not guilty and was not thought to be in in line for discipline from the NFL. He also dealt with a hamstring issue earlier this preseason, but by all accounts he was healthy and there are no other known issues to cause his release.

The Bills seemed to prepare for not keeping Williams, keeping six other running backs (five not counting McCoy) on their initial 53-man roster. Mike Tolbert is now in line to be McCoy’s primary backup, with Joe Banyard, rookie Jordan Johnson, Taiwan Jones and fullback Patrick DiMarco also in the mix.

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It should be noted the current regime in Buffalo did not draft Williams, and there may be details about the move to cut him we don’t and will never know. But he should not be available for too long, based on potential alone, and a change of scenery may do Williams some good.