https://theathletic.com/3171474/2022/03/08/he-gave-everything-he-had-how-mike-williams-earned-his-extension-with-the-chargers/

By Daniel Popper
1h ago

If you want to know what Mike Williams means to the Chargers — and what
the Chargers mean to Mike Williams — you can start in the fourth quarter
and overtime of the team’s season-ending loss to the Raiders in Las Vegas.

Justin Herbert was leading and willing the Chargers on one of the most
improbable comebacks in recent NFL history. And he was doing so by
peppering his most trustworthy weapon with targets. Throw after throw
headed Williams’ direction, and catch after catch was made. Williams was
in pain, though. He had banged up his leg diving for a pass in the end
zone on a third-and-21 with less than five minutes remaining. After the
play, Williams limped to the sideline and crouched, looking on as
Herbert hit Joshua Palmer for a fourth-down touchdown.

Williams returned for the next series, diving and selling out as Herbert
kept firing his way. He saved the limping for in between plays. When the
ball was snapped, Williams went into playmaking mode. The Chargers fell
short, of course. But over the final 8:23 of the fourth quarter and in
overtime, Williams was targeted 13 times. He caught seven of those
targets for 111 yards and the game-tying touchdown. Five went for
first-down conversions, including two on fourth down.

“I was hurting,” Williams said after the game. “But I needed to get back
out there and try to help the team get the dub.”

Chargers general manager Tom Telesco had walked down to the field from
his box to watch overtime.

“He gave everything he had,” Telesco said of Williams’ effort that
night. “He had nothing left by the time he got to the end of that game.”

That effort — and a career season of production — was rewarded Tuesday
when the Chargers reached an agreement with Williams on a three-year,
$60 million contract, The Athletic confirmed. The deal includes $40
million fully guaranteed at signing, according to a source, a massive
number considering the total value of the contract. And it came hours
before the franchise-tag deadline. The Chargers could have tagged
Williams and given themselves until July to negotiate a long-term
extension. That they got this deal done before the deadline shows,
better than anything, how the organization feels about Williams.

At $20 million in average annual value, Williams is now tied with Amari
Cooper as the fourth-highest paid wide receiver in the NFL, just behind
teammate Keenan Allen, who signed a four-year extension in 2020 worth
$20.25 million in average annual value. Williams’ $40 million in fully
guaranteed money is tied with Cooper for the third-most among wide
receivers. Only DeAndre Hopkins and Julio Jones signed for more fully
guaranteed money.

A year ago, this level of contract for Williams would have been
shocking. But the former No. 7 overall pick realized his full potential
under head coach Brandon Staley and offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi
in 2021.

Staley, specifically, had a defined vision for what Williams could be:
Not just a deep-field 50-50-ball threat, but a fully-rounded receiver
who could attack in the short and intermediate areas of the field.
Williams ran more slants, shallow crossers, digs and out. He was
incorporated as the feature receiver in the Chargers’ advantage-look
game, a branch of their run-pass-option scheme. Oftentimes, Lombardi
would call a run play into Herbert with what the Chargers staff termed
an “advantage” tag. If Williams was covered one-on-one, Herbert could
kill the run play and throw to Williams on a number of routes, often
times a slant, a smoke route (a quick horizontal throw to the outside)
or, if the Chargers were in the red zone, a fade route.

This vision unlocked Williams, and his production soared. Williams set a
career high in targets with 129. His previous high was 90. He set a
career high in catches with 76. His previous high was 49. He set a
career high in yards with 1,146. His previous high was 1,001. And he
caught nine touchdowns, one shy of his career high of 10.

Underlying this breakout season was a profound and burgeoning connection
with Herbert — one that will only continue to grow with Williams locked
up for multiple seasons.

“Mike’s a special player,” Herbert said in January. “I knew, as soon as
I got here, how gifted he was, and what he’s able to do with the 50-50
balls. I don’t think he gets enough credit for the routes that he runs
and the separation. He does such a great job in practice, in games, in
the meeting room and in the weight room. He’s a really good teammate.”

With Allen and Williams both on lucrative extensions, the Chargers are
devoting a solid chunk of their salary cap to one position group. But
that is possible thanks to their elite quarterback playing on a cheap
rookie contract.

Based on the contract numbers, I would expect Williams’ 2022 cap hit to
be around $10 million, give or take. That is well below the
franchise-tag cap hit of $18.419 million, and those added savings this
season were certainly a factor in the Chargers getting this extension done.

Williams earned this contract. No question about it. And do not overlook
how much his willingness to play through pain — something he has done
throughout his Chargers career, including in 2019, when he had a bone
bruise in his knee for the final 14 games of the season — contributed to
this payday.

Toughness is just as much a part of Williams’ skill set as his
contested-catch prowess.

He proved that in Vegas.

“If we would have won that game, it would have been a performance we
would have been talking about well after the fact,” Telesco said in January.

We are talking about it now.

“I’m thankful we drafted him,” Telesco said. “I’m thankful he’s here.”