Report: FA Corner Tramon Williams signs with Browns

The Cleveland Browns who have been in the market to add veteran cornerback depth signed former Packers cornerback Tramon Williams, according to NFL Insider Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network. The deal is for 3 years and $21 million, according to Rapoport, the Browns were able to out bid the Packers who had reportedly offered Williams 2 years, $8 million.

Williams was an undrafted player out of Louisiana Tech University who has played all 8 of his NFL seasons with the Packers and only missed 1 game dating back to 2011, during that time. Williams, who turned 32 today, is an ideal fit for the Browns who need a veteran presence to replace Jim Leonhard.

Williams will be stepping in and replacing Skrine, and just to give you an idea of what the Browns are getting; last year for the Packer, Williams had 71 tackles, 1 fumble recovery, 3 interceptions and 13 pass deflections. According to PFF Williams graded out with a 1.6 grade, the 9th highest grade of all free agent corners. To put into perspective, Buster Skrine graded at -6.3. So at least according to PFF, the Browns would be getting a significant upgrade over Skrine if using last year’s data.

This data also seems to fall in line with the contract given to Williams whose $7 million a year average is more than the $6.25 million the Jets are paying Skrine per year. As my editor pointed out yesterday, Williams is an ideal system fit and could play both corner and safety in Mike Pettine’s defense and may be attracted to a versatile role that could put him in a place to succeed next season.

What do you think about the Browns signing veteran Tramon Williams?