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Top 5 potential landing spots for Mario Williams

Courtesy of Winslow Townson, USA Today Sports

It sure looks like Mario Williams and the Buffalo Bills will be parting ways with one another when the season draws to a conclusion.

According to a report by the Associated Press, Williams will be cut by the Bills during the offseason:

“High-priced defensive end Mario Williams will be cut by the Bills this offseason, a person with direct knowledge of discussions told The Associated Press on Thursday,” the report read. “The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the team does not publicly discuss its player personnel plans.”

Bills head coach Rex Ryan didn’t do a whole bunch to deny this report during his press conference on New Year’s Eve:

“Well, I don’t know where it’s coming from or whatever,” Ryan said of the report, . “I know we have a game to play and that’s really where all of our focus is. So I don’t know where the story is coming from.”

Instead of flatly denying the report, Ryan decided to simply play the company line.

This comes on the heels of Williams criticizing the team’s defensive scheme multiple times through the year, the latest of which came following Buffalo’s Week 15 loss to the Washington Redskins:

“If we win and we’re 10-4, or whatever, hey, hats off. But if it don’t work, yeah, there needs to be a different change,” Williams said, via CBS Sports. “So if one person is singled out as that needs to be done, then so be it. That’s not my decision.”

After recording 38 sacks in his first three seasons with the Bills, Williams has struggled fitting into Ryan’s system. He has only 4.5 sacks through 15 games this year.

That has to be considered a major disappointment for an organization that gave Williams a six-year, $96 million contract back in 2012.

If this is indeed the end of the road for Williams in Western New York, there promises to be a ton of interest in his services once he’s released.

Here is a look at five teams that would act as the top potential landing spots for the 30-year-old former No. 1 overall pick.

Carolina Panthers

The one area Carolina has struggled with on defense has to be rushing the passer.

Losing Greg Hardy obviously didn’t help. Say what you want about the man, but he is an absolute beast of a pass rusher on the field. An injury to Charles Johnson that saw him miss seven games played a major role here as well.

And while Carolina has still racked up 42 sacks on the year, only 14 of them have come from the team’s top-three defensive ends. In a 4-3 scheme, that has to be a tad worrisome.

In addition to all this, second-year player Kony Ealy has failed to live up to expectations in an expanded role. He’s recorded just five sacks in 15 games (nine starts).

While Carolina isn’t in the greatest cap situations (projected $15 million room), it sure could use a force like Williams to go with what has been a dominating linebacker and corner group. He also fits the team’s 4-3 defense to a T.

Dallas Cowboys

Back to Hardy for a second. After what has been a drama-filled season in Dallas, there is absolutely no telling whether the Cowboys want to take yet another PR hit by signing Hardy to a long-term contract.

Having put up just six sacks in 11 games, there could also be some thought given to the idea that he’s just not worth the headache.

If Dallas were to avoid re-signing Hardy that would put the team in prime position to go after a top-end free-agent pass rusher.

Cap issues could be an issue here, but Jerry Jones and Co. have the ability to shed some lofty contracts from their roster when the new league year comes calling — giving the team cash to spend on Williams.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville entered this past March with the second-most cap room in the NFL. Instead of deciding to overspend on other team’s free agents, it re-worked some contracts with players already on the team and focused on building through the draft.

While this is a fundamentally sound strategy in today’s NFL, Jacksonville will find itself in a vastly different position when the new league year comes calling.

It’s much closer to contending for a playoff spot and the AFC South title than most people would have imagined prior to the start of the 2015 season. In this, adding one or two high-priced free agents with proven track records might make sense.

The Jaguars’ success this year might also indicate that more top-end free agents will view them as an attractive destination.

Running a base 4-3 scheme, Gus Bradley’s defense has lacked a dominant force along the defensive line since he joined the team. The selection of Dante Fowler Jr. was meant to solve this issue, but he missed his entire rookie season with a knee injury.

Imagine Jacksonville being able to pair Fowler Jr. up with Williams. Not only would it give the team two tremendous book ends, it would provide the young pass rusher with a veteran presence to learn from.

With a projected $42 million to spend under the cap, Jacksonville would be foolish to avoid a player of Williams’ ilk.

Oakland Raiders

Joining Jacksonville as a potential hot free agent destination, the Raiders are one of the best young teams in the NFL. This came out on the field in a big way during what has been a surprising 2015 season.

Outside of the team’s young talent on offense, the emergence of Khalil Mack as a potential NFL Defensive Player of the Year candidate is huge for this organization moving forward. Once Aldon Smith returns from suspension, there will be a nice little group to build around.

Despite running a hybrid defensive front, Jack Del Rio’s scheme seems to fit what Williams does best. It’s pretty similar to what we saw in Buffalo prior to Rex Ryan’s arrival.

As with the Jaguars, Oakland will have a ton of cash to throw around. And while general manager Reggie McKenzie has been smart not to overpay for other team’s free agents, Williams could very well be an exception to that role.

The caliber of player we are talking about here doesn’t hit the open market all too often.

Miami Dolphins 

Ndamukong Suh and Mario Williams on the same defensive line together. Well, that would probably force Tom Brady into waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat.

It’s also something I wouldn’t put past a Dolphins organization that has not been afraid to throw money around to free agents in the past.

In what has been a disappointing 2015 season for the team, Miami has racked up just 29 sacks on the season. With Cameron Wake coming off an Achilles injury, there’s also no telling if he will ever be back at full strength.

Miami does boast two solid young defensive ends in Derrick Shelby and Olivier Vernon, both of whom have graded out extremely well from a pass-rush standpoint. However, it wouldn’t hurt at all for the team to add a third presence on the outside.

The only real issue here is Miami’s cap situation. It’s going to have to cut some fat from the roster in order to even hit even by the time March comes calling.

Still, there are ample things the team can do in order to fit Williams under the cap.

All cap numbers provided by Spotrac

Check out Vincent’s other work on eDraft.com and follow him on Twitter. His work can also be seen on MSN, Fox Sports and Forbes.

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