Saints’ safety P.J. Williams is returning to New Orleans on a one-year deal, per source. This now will be Williams’ eighth season with the Saints.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 2, 2022
Another New Orleans Saints free agent is staying in black and gold. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Saints are re-signing veteran defensive back P.J. Williams to another one-year contract; Williams has played on one-year deals in each of the last three seasons. Initially drafted out of Florida State in 2015 as a cornerback, Williams converted to safety later in his Saints career and has found some success as an experienced role player in head coach Dennis Allen’s defense. He’s suited up for 85 games in his Saints career, including the playoffs.
Bringing him back is critical after New Orleans lost both of their starting safeties in the same offseason. Free safety Marcus Williams left on a nice free agency contract with the Baltimore Ravens, while strong safety Malcolm Jenkins chose to retire after 13 successful seasons in the NFL. The Saints were able to bring in free agents Marcus Maye and Daniel Sorensen to help replenish the depth chart, but Williams knows the system better than both of them and should be able to ease the learning curve on the back end.