Could the Carolina Panthers lure Marcus Williams from the Saints?

Could the Carolina Panthers potentially try and lure Marcus Williams from the New Orleans Saints in the wake of Sean Payton’s departure?

The news of Sean Payton’s departure from the New Orleans Saints shook the NFL world to its foundations this week. His storied 15-season spell with the organization could lead to big changes across the board, which should put the Carolina Panthers and others across the league on red alert.

New Orleans is currently $74 million over the cap heading into the offseason. Not exactly the best predicament for a new head coach to be walking into and possibly a reason why Payton decided to call it a day.

Teams will be exploring the possibility of acquiring some talent from the Saints in the coming weeks either via trade or finding the right guy in free agency. One name that is sure to be a hot commodity is Marcus Williams, a gifted safety who would fill a substantial need for the Panthers.

Convincing Williams to jump ship and join a divisional rival is a tough sell. Especially when one considers the current state of the Panthers heading into Year 3 of Matt Rhule’s tenure.

However, the benefits of landing a marquee player like Williams are there for all to see.

Marcus Williams would be a major coup for the Carolina Panthers

Carolina does have Jeremy Chinn on the backend, who did well overall after switching from the outside linebacker spot he starred as a rookie. Defensive coordinator Phil Snow stated the Panthers will discuss the possibility of moving the Southern Illinois product back to the second level and if this is something that comes to fruition, bolstering the safety position becomes a top need.

The former second-round pick out of Utah has grown in stature with every passing season. Williams gave up eight receptions from 16 targets in 2021 and performed to an extremely high level, which is reflected in his 80.1 grade from Pro Football Focus.

PFF also named Williams as their No. 1 free agent safety set to hit the market this year, predicting a contract somewhere in the region of $16.4 million per season over a four-year period.

"“The Saints have prioritized free-agent spending and drafting in the secondary, so we’re not suggesting Williams is playing in a weak group, but he has graded above 70.0 for five years in a row now as the free safety manning the deep third of the field. He’ll still be just 26 years old in Week 1 of 2022 after playing on the franchise tag and should have offers to become one of the highest-paid safeties in the NFL.”"

The Panthers have around $24 million in available cap space right now. So even if they did free up some additional funds elsewhere, this might be a little out of their price range considering the needs elsewhere.

Should Williams and the Saints go their separate ways, then there will be a queue of teams looking to make an offer to entice the player. This would undoubtedly make the Panthers’ chances even more remote given they are not in a position to contend at the present moment.

Carolina should make a call, at the very least. All Williams can do is say no and the Panthers do have plenty of young talent defensively under an experienced coordinator in Snow.

That being said, burning bridges in New Orleans to join an NFC South adversary might not be in his train of thought. And considering Williams’ exceptional skill set, a contending team could shell out big bucks in an attempt to get over the hump.