The team had not yet released the transaction yet as of Wednesday night, but the Arizona Cardinals have signed another young player to a future contract for the 2012 season. This player should be a familiar name, too. According to Baltimore reporter Aaron Wilson, Arizona has brought back receiver Isaiah Williams, who has seen time with the team over the past two seasons.
Williams was in training camp late in 2010 and all of 2011 camp. He was signed to the practice squad after being cut during the preseason both seasons. He was released from the squad during the second half of this season and was subsequently signed to the Seattle Seahawks practice squad, where he finished the season.
Williams is a 6-3, 200 lb wideout with speed. His fastest 40 time coming out of college was 4.38, so he obviously has speed. I recall from the preseason that the team liked him, but he was caught in the numbers game at receiver.
As with all players that are signed to future contracts, it is a good idea to note that these guys typically do not make the team, and if they do, they are not big contributors.
Williams is the 10th player to be signed to such a contract this offseason. In a previous post about the other nine players, I posted the list of players from the past couple of years and observed this:
If I recall, not a single guy in the 2010 list was on the roster by the end of the season. Of the 2011 group, Alfonso Smith and Ronald Talley contributed in small form.
While Williams is not likely to be a breakout player (based on history with these players), these are the types of players that fans get excited about, hoping for the next great story of a longshot player making an impact.
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