Dolphins cut four players, including former No. 1 pick Mario Williams
US (CBS) — Mario Williams’ tenure with the Miami Dolphins is over after just one year. The Miami Herald reports that Williams was released on Thursday, along with left tackle Branden Albert, defensive tackle Earl Mitchell, and cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu.
Williams was signed last off-season to a two-year, $17 million contract that contained $11,985,000 guaranteed.
He began the 2016 season as a starter along Miami’s defensive line but eventually fell out of favor amid poor play and concerns about his effort.
By the end of the season, he had played a career-low 44.9 percent of the team’s defensive snaps and played just five snaps in the Dolphins’ wild-card round loss to the Steelers. His release saves the Dolphins $8.5 million against their 2017 salary cap.
Albert, the Dolphins’ starting left tackle for the last three seasons, was headed into the fourth season of a five-year, $47 million contract that he signed to come over from the Kansas City Chiefs back in 2014.
He missed four games due to injury in 2016 and was generally ineffective compared to his previous level of play. His release clears $7.2 million off Miami’s books for 2017.
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