4 Jacksonville Jaguars cut candidates after releasing Folorunso Fatukasi

2. Darious Williams, cornerback

Salary for 2024: $12 M
Potential cap savings: $11.5 M
Dead money: $500,000

Darious Williams presents a conundrum for the Jaguars. Originally miscast as a nickel, he fared much better once he moved to the boundaries in the middle of the 2022 season. The former UAB Blazer followed it up with an even better 2023, registering four interceptions and 19 passes defensed.

Now, Williams enters the third and last year of the $30 million deal he inked in 2022. All things considered, he was one of the best players the Jaguars acquired in free agency that year. However, the team's brass will at least consider the possibility of releasing him to create cap space.

Unlike other players on this list, Williams wouldn't be cut because of performance-related reasons. Rather, it will be because the Jags can move on from him without a considerable cap penalty. Ideally, you want to keep good players around but the $11.5 million in savings may be too good to pass up. The fact that there's a new defensive coordinator, Ryan Nielsen, calling the shots cast additional doubt in Williams' future with the team.

It's uncertain if Williams fits Nielsen's system but if the Jags think they don't, releasing him is a reasonable course of action. On the other hand, they should keep him around if they think he could contribute in the new scheme. Heck, they could even give him an extension and push some of his salary to future years, creating a bit of space in 2024.

As noted before, Williams is here because of the amount of space the Jaguars can create if they release him. That said, the potential benefits may not be enough to justify his departure. After all, the Jags would need to look for his replacement in free agency or the draft, and they'll probably have a bit of a hard time acquiring someone who can perform at the same level right out of the gate.