Chicago Bears Roster Review: D.J. Williams
By Mike Praser
Nov 27, 2014; Detroit, MI, USA; Chicago Bears middle linebacker D.J. Williams (58) against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
The Chicago Bears offseason is in full swing as we head toward the start of the new league year and Free Agency. As a part of our Chicago Bears Roster Review, we’re leading off by looking at Bears Free Agents. New GM Ryan Pace and head coach John Fox have some tough decisions to make as they reshape the Bears roster in hopes of a bounceback 2015 season.
D.J. Williams, Inside Linebacker, Age 32 – Unrestricted Free Agent
2014 Review
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D.J. Williams was signed by the Bears to ultimately be Brian Urlacher’s replacement at middle linebacker. They wanted someone who had experience and speed in order to fill the hole that Urlacher left when he was dumped by the Bears. After two injury plagued seasons, playing only 18 out of 32 games, D.J. Williams couldn’t even find a shovel to attempt to fill the gaping hole that was left behind.
Williams may have made some plays this past season, but nothing sticks out in my memory after two seasons of horrifically bad defensive play by the Chicago Bears. With a combined total of 73 tackles over two seasons, D.J. Williams is just another mediocre piece of the bad defense of the Chicago Bears. He did have two sacks on Big Ben back in 2013, but that’s about it. D.J. Williams wasn’t the only experienced linebacker to be injured and miss time last year. I was really hoping that the young linebackers could have stepped up and play up to expectations. Obviously, the whole defense failed to do that and now the Bears have a new General Manager and Coaching staff. Check out Dan Durkin’s Positional Breakdown on the Bear’s linebackers for a more in depth take.
2015 Outlook
The Bears need to take a pass on linebacker D.J. Williams this upcoming season. One of the weakest groups last year was the linebacking core and the Bears really need to grow the position with youth from the draft rather than signing aging, injury prone players such as D.J. Williams. Even if he would be a good fit as an inside linebacker, which he has experience with when he was with the Broncos, he can’t stay healthy enough to stay on the field.
What do you think about D.J. Williams? Should the Bears try and resign him for the 2015 season? Let us know in the comments section below.