As the St. Louis Cardinals round out their roster for 2021, the quest for authority keeps on making itself obvious in the group’s moves.
The most recent example came Monday, when the team consented to a one-year deal with veteran safety Shawn Williams, who played the initial eight years of his career with the Bengals. He turns 30 in May and was one of the Bengals’ team captains.
A brief timeframe after the Williams deal, the Cards additionally consented to a one-year agreement to bring back fellow safety/special teamer Chris Banjo.
Williams, a 2013 third-round pick, was the team leader in tackles in 2019 when he began every one of the 16 games. He was moved to a backup role in 2020 and became a key cog on special teams (at one point turning a fake punt on fourth-and-13 against the Steelers into a 39-yard run).
In his career, Williams has begun 61 of 119 games, with 12 interferences. He joins another long-term Bengal now on the Cardinals, wide receiver A.J. Green.
The Cardinals ended up short at security last season when early-season wounds left them without starters Budda Baker and Jalen Thompson. Williams can be a support against that event once more. Veteran Deionte Thompson is the other veteran security on the roster, alongside Banjo.
Banjo was Jalen Thompson’s fundamental substitution last season. Despite the fact that he officially began just 13 games, he played 436 defensive snaps, by far the most of his NFL career. He has showed up in 26 games more than two seasons with the Cardinals. Due to his need on defense, Banjo’s special teams snaps fell from 290 of every 2019 to 175 last season.