Count Ravens cornerback Cary Williams among the many 2013 free agents who opted to turn down contract offers. Count Williams among the few who have gambled and, so far, won.
With injuries to Lardarius Webb and Jimmy Smith thrusting Williams into a leading role, Williams will be worth much more to the team, or to someone else, than the three-year, $15 million offer he rejected before the current season.
Williams says he doesn’t care.
“I don’t worry about that type of stuff,” Williams recently said, via Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. “All of that stuff will take care of itself as long as I’m handling my business. I can’t do that. I would be cheating my teammates to be worrying about what’s going on next year instead of worrying about the right now and being in the moment.”
It’s admirable, but he will end up cheating himself if a serious injury in the last two regular-season games or the playoffs results in neither the Ravens nor anyone else offering Williams $15 million over three years, plus whatever extra needs to be added to make up for the looming 4.6-percent tax increase.