As we approach the final stretch of the regular season, with NFL teams having five or six games left to play, we’re seeing more veterans latch on with the presumed Super Bowl contenders.
From Ndamukong Suh and Linval Joseph landing in Philadelphia, and now Brandon Williams signing with the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad.
No, he’s not the big-ticket veteran free agent everyone’s waiting on, but Williams is a former Pro Bowl defensive tackle who plugged the run in Baltimore from 2013-2021. At 6-foot-1, 336 pounds, it’s safe to say he can still move some weight in the trenches.
When Williams was in Baltimore, they ranked in the top five in run defense for five of his nine seasons. While we can’t attribute this success to Williams alone, as the Ravens still have the second-ranked run defense through Week 12, he certainly knows what it takes to be a part of a stout defense.
Now, Williams will be taking his 123 career games of experience to Kansas City, where he can help coach up some of the younger athletes recently drafted by the Chiefs.
Related: 2022 NFL defense rankings: Week 13 fantasy defense rankings, best NFL defenses
Brandon Williams reunites with an old friend in Kansas City
By choosing Kansas City, Williams is signing with the current Super Bowl favorites, which, now that he’s 33, getting his first Lombardi Trophy is probably on the Missouri native’s bucket list.
He also gets to reunite with a member of the staff he’s already familiar with, in defensive line coach Joe Cullen, who was with the Ravens from 2016-2020.
- Brandon Williams stats (career): 323 tackles (33 for loss), 6.5 sacks, 2 FF, 5 FR
While Williams, who has recorded just 6.5 sacks in his career, isn’t likely to help provide any sort of pass rush boost, he should be able to help plug some running gaps in Kansas City. The Chiefs are already a top-five rush defense in total yards, but they rank 14th in yards per attempt as we head into Week 13.
Plus, it never hurts to have more vets on hand who can help in a pinch. While he may just be on the team’s practice squad for now, don’t be surprised if we see Williams on the NFL roster come playoff time. This gives him plenty of time to catch up until January in the meantime.
At worst, it’s a low-risk addition with the potential to be extremely rewarding. As they say in the NFL, the backups are always just one play away from having to take the field. At least in this case, Williams will be plenty prepared when his coaches call his number.
Related: NFL playoff scenarios 2022: Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings can clinch in Week 13