The Jacksonville Jaguars opened the first day of free agency by signing unrestricted free agent cornerback Brian Williams to a contract today. The fifth-year veteran had spent the previous four seasons with the Minnesota Vikings.
"Our defensive coaches loved Brian's physical style," head coach Jack Del Rio said. "He has good size, and he has played a lot of man-to-man coverage which will enable us to open up the blitz. Mike Tice confirmed what we saw as we studied this player, and he spoke highly of Brian's quality character."
"This was an opportunity to sign a good young corner," said James Harris, vice president of player personnel. "He is a player we targeted and wanted to move on quickly. We have liked him and we feel that this gives us another good young cornerback on our defense."
Williams, 26, played in 14 games starting nine last season for the Vikings. He finished tied for second on the team with four interceptions and had 46 tackles (40 solo), one sack, two forced fumbles and 11 passes defensed. He also had nine special teams tackles.
"I'm definitely excited to be here," Williams said. "I'm looking forward to contributing to the great defense here. This is a playoff team on the rise, and I want to help take it a step further."
The 5-11, 198-pound cornerback was originally a fourth round draft choice of the Vikings in 2002 out of North Carolina State. He has played in 62 career games with 48 starts. The High Point, N.C. native has 262 career tackles with 12 interceptions, four sacks and seven forced fumbles.
