In a post a little while ago, Darin Gantt noted how the impending Ravens free agents not named Joe Flacco were in a holding pattern as the team tries to nail down a new deal with their quarterback.
One of those free agents is cornerback Cary Williams, who says he’d like to return to Baltimore but knows that it might not happen because the team has been clear with him about their priorities for their free agents this offseason. They start with Flacco, continue with linebacker Dannell Ellerbe and seem to stop somewhere short of Williams.
“They said if it wasn’t for the situation they’re in now that I would be a priority and that I am a priority, but it’s just a situation where they have some big needs right now that they have to fill in the quarterback position and the linebacker position, and those are more dire needs, and they don’t necessarily know if they’ll have the money or have the time to get me a deal,” Williams said, via the Carroll County Times.
Williams also talked about his decision to turn down a three-year, $15 million deal from the Ravens before the 2012 season. He said he didn’t regret the decision, even if it means he winds up leaving the Ravens, and said he thinks he’s played well enough to command an even bigger deal as a free agent.
“The sky’s the limit for me now. I just feel like I’m an ascending player. I feel like I’ve gotten better each and every year,” Williams said. “I wasn’t able to play the way I wanted to play at the beginning of this season because of the hip, but towards the latter part of the season I think that everybody saw my potential and saw what I can do.”
We’re less than two weeks away from finding out if the rest of the league agrees with Williams.