Defensive Line

[Butler By'Note]

I wouldn't be so sure about Williams staying. They have two solid OLB in Barwin (11.5 sacks) and Reed (6 sacks, but is a rookie). Not to mention they probably want to resign Arian Foster, and they just payed Andre Johnson a lot of money. Now I doubt we get Williams, but him being on the market should reduce the price of other guys which might make someone like Callais Campbell affordable for us.

And I'd take a look at Antonio Garay and Jason Jones. Garay was quite the force last year for the Chargers, and while he is having a down year he could really help us against the run and he has the burst to collapse the pocket and provide an interior rush. Jones is a stud for the Titans, and provides a lot of interior rush even if the numbers don't show it. I doubt we go after Jones because of his weight even though he is an effective UT in the run and pass game.

Sadly the opposite is true. Mario Williams being an unrestricted free agent (which I doubt he will be) would increase the price that it costs for other d-linemen. Agents will wait for Williams to sign and then they will compare their clients to a player coming back from injury. Also teams that miss out on the bidding war for Williams are more likely to panic when they don't sign him and overspend on other available talent.