Given the news of defensive lineman Ryan McBean settling the lawsuit challenging his six-game suspension with a difference-splitting three-game suspension, the obvious question becomes whether Broncos linebacker D.J. Williams will do the same thing.
There currently are no indications that Williams plans to or will be settling.
Of course, that could change if the NFL offers something like a one-game suspension or no suspension and a fine. For now, though, Williams plans to keep fighting the outcome of the in-house appeal of his suspension.
The thinking in league circles is that McBean settled because no team would have signed him to a contract while he had an active lawsuit pending against the league. Whether that perception is accurate, the reality is that he signed with the Ravens only after settling the lawsuit against the league.
I’ll have more to say about the McBean settlement and the Williams non-settlement during PFT Live, including how this situation possibly relates to the Saints’ bounty investigation.