Denver Broncos finally land a nickel cornerback in free agency

Denver Broncos offseason: K'Waun Williams #24 of the San Francisco 49ers returns a fumble, that is later overturned, during the game against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium on January 30, 2022 in Inglewood, California. The Rams defeated the 49ers 20-17. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images)
Denver Broncos offseason: K'Waun Williams #24 of the San Francisco 49ers returns a fumble, that is later overturned, during the game against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium on January 30, 2022 in Inglewood, California. The Rams defeated the 49ers 20-17. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images)

The Denver Broncos have signed former 49ers cornerback K’Waun Williams. What will be his impact on the team?

The Denver Broncos checked another box off of their free agent list on Tuesday. The team signed former San Francisco 49ers cornerback K’Waun Williams.

Williams spent five seasons with the 49ers following a two-year stay with the Cleveland Browns to begin his career. Williams has started 46 of a total of 91 games played in his seven-year NFL career.

His best year came in 2019, when he intercepted two passes, forced four fumbles, had 51 total tackles, and four quarterback hits.

Four of the Denver Broncos’ cornerbacks are currently free agents, including Bryce Callahan and Kyle Fuller. Ronald Darby was signed to a three-year contract, so the team doesn’t have to worry about losing him nor second-year corner Pat Surtain for a while.

K’Waun Williams to fill in at slot cornerback for Denver Broncos; what’s next for Bryce Callahan?

The Denver Broncos signed K’Waun Williams to help out at the slot cornerback role—the spot where Bryce Callahan was tasked to take over when he was signed in 2019.

It would make sense to see Bryce Callahan leave the Broncos in free agency because of the total number of games he has missed during his tenure in Denver. In 2019, he missed the entire year with a foot injury. In 2020 and 2021, he missed 12 combined games.

Williams has missed some games including a time when he was suspended for refusing to play in a game due to an ankle injury with the Cleveland Browns.

The ideal situation, in my opinion, would be to bring Callahan back and use both him and Williams in different situations. Both players are very talented and I think that mixing Callahan in in certain situations would help preserve him for an entire 17-game season and potentially into the playoffs now that the team has Russell Wilson.

Depth is crucial in the NFL and the signing of Williams should prove to be a very smart move even if Callahan returns to the Broncos.

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