After the 2021 season, wide receiver Preston Williams looked like he could use a new beginning, and perhaps the advent of a new head coach will provide him with that opportunity.
Whatever the case may be, Williams has re-signed with the Miami Dolphins for another year and will be playing there for the fourth straight season, according to a league source.
With the start of the league year on Wednesday, Williams would have been an unrestricted free agent if the Dolphins had extended a qualifying offer, which they had not done.
Williams had a dismal 2021 season after two promising years (2019 and 2020) that were cut short by injuries in the eighth game.
Last year, Williams sat out seven games and dressed for two others where he didn’t participate. One of those games was in Buffalo, where he was sent home from Miami for breaking team rules.
Williams only had six receptions for the season, and three of those came in the 28-point loss to Tampa Bay.
However, Williams is a big receiver who has demonstrated in his first two seasons that he can be a significant contributor in the passing game. Additionally, Williams possesses the blocking skills that new head coach Mike McDaniel will appreciate in an offense that places a greater emphasis on the running game than most.
Williams joins Emmanuel Ogbah, Mike Gesicki, and Duke Riley as the Dolphins’ retained prospective free agents.
Williams’s return means that Jaylen Waddle, DeVante Parker, Allen Hurns, Lynn Bowden Jr., DeVonte Dedmon, Cody Core, River Cracraft, and the soon-to-be-signed Cedrick Wilson Jr. will make up the wide receiver corps.