Daryl Williams re-signed with the Carolina Panthers on a one-year deal March 14, according to a team press release.
The deal is reportedly a worth more than six million. Williams was only in free agency for one day following the expiration of his rookie contract on March 13. The now fourth-year offensive right tackle is a fourth-round pick who has been with the Panthers since his rookie year started in 2015. He played all 16 games as a full-time starter in 2017.
In 2018 during training camp in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Williams was carted off the field with what appeared to be a knee injury. It was later disclosed that Williams had dislocated his knee and tore his MCL. However, he still started in the 2018 season home opener against the Dallas Cowboys.
In the fourth quarter, Williams left the field with another apparent knee injury. Unfortunately, this injury was the same injury as before and he was placed on injured reserve for the remaining of the 2018 season and subsequently decided to move forward with knee surgery to repair the latest damage done to his knee.
We know what Daryl brings to our offensive line when he is healthy,” general manager Marty Hurney said. “He’s been working very hard at rehabbing from his knee injury and is coming back with something to prove. He has position flexibility and fits in with one of our top priorities of the offseason: to make our offensive line as strong and as deep as we can make it.”
Williams responded to the signing of his contract by saying “Things happen for a reason.”
Williams was raised by his mother Lamesa, who raised him alone from the time of his parents’ divorce in 2007. He attended and graduated high school from Lake Dallas High School located in Corinth, Texas. He was named All-Region while recording 38 pancakes and grading out at 93 percent in 2009.
In addition, he also did not allow a sack for his high school squad that happened to also average 440 yards per game. He was rated by Rivals.com as a four-star recruit then committed to play college football with the University of Oklahoma in the fall of 2010.
From 2010 until 2014, Williams attended and played for the University of Oklahoma. He played nine games “redshirting” as a freshman, and at the beginning of his sophomore year, Williams became a starter and started in ten games. As for 2013 and 2014, he was a starter in all 13 games.
