Denver Broncos: DeShawn Williams returns to compete on D-line

The Denver Broncos re-signed DL DeShawn Williams to compete in camp.

The Denver Broncos announced they have re-signed defensive lineman DeShawn Williams, a player who has competed with the team for parts of each of the last three seasons.

A 6-foot-1, 291-pound defensive tackle, Williams played his college ball at Clemson and got his first break in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Up to this point in his NFL career, Williams’ transaction history is about a mile long. He’s been signed, cut, waived, added to the practice squad, cut from the practice squad, and re-added more times than he probably cares to think about.

With that said, he’s been good enough to keep NFL teams interested, and in addition to the Bengals and Broncos, Williams has also competed with the Miami Dolphins and Indianapolis Colts.

A preseason star of sorts, Williams has shown an ability to put pressure on the quarterback from the interior defensive line, but to use a baseball analogy, he’s the quintessential “AAAA” player. That means he’s better than a AAA player but not quite everyday Major League quality.

The fascinating thing about this move is the number of times the Broncos have brought him in.

Clearly the front office and/or coaching staff think highly of this player, and even in a crowded defensive line room, he could be a beneficiary of the new roster rules in 2020.

Not only are practice squads expanded from 10 players to 16 players during the 2020 season, but the entire league has pretty lenient rules about bringing guys off the practice squad for relief stints on the active roster, and Williams is a player who could be called up in a pinch if the Broncos get into any sort of injury trouble on the defensive line.

In four career regular season games (all with the Bengals in 2016), Williams has a good ratio with four quarterback hits.

The Broncos already have exceptional depth on the defensive line, so Williams will have to hope he can show enough in short order with the regular season just three weeks away to stick around.