The Carolina Panthers have released running back DeAngelo Williams, the team announced Tuesday.
“DeAngelo will forever be remembered as one of the quintessential Panthers of this era,” head coach Ron Rivera said. “He holds all of our running back records and his 20 total touchdowns in the 2008 season was a truly special feat. I really enjoyed watching DeAngelo grow over the past four years and wish him nothing but the best moving forward.”
Injuries limited Williams to six regular season games for Carolina in 2014. Williams rushed for 219 yards on 62 carries and totaled five receptions for 44 yards. Williams played in two postseason games, rushing for 30 yards on six carries and recording two catches for two yards.
“We are very appreciative of the hard work and effort that DeAngelo brought to Bank of America Stadium every day,” general manager Dave Gettleman said. “Last year was extremely difficult for him but he finished the season like a pro and I will always respect him for that.”
Williams, who has spent his entire nine-year NFL career with the Panthers, leaves as Carolina’s all-time leader with 6,846 rushing yards, 1,432 rushing attempts, 46 rushing touchdowns and 18 games with 100 or more rushing yards. Williams also holds the team’s single-game rushing mark with 210 yards at New Orleans (12/30/12). Williams produced 53 total touchdowns in his Panthers’ career (46 rushing, seven receiving), the second-most touchdowns in team history behind Steve Smith (75).
Williams earned a Pro Bowl selection in 2009 after rushing for 1,117 yards and becoming the first player in team history to record back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons, gaining a team-record 1,515 yards in 2008.
Williams’ career 4.78-yards per carry average (6,846 yards on 1,432 attempts) ranks second in Panthers history and is 15th in NFL history among players with a minimum of 750 attempts. His 117 games played are the second-most by a Carolina back behind Brad Hoover (152).
A first-round selection by the Panthers in the first round (27th overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft, Williams finished his at career the University of Memphis as the NCAA record holder in all-purpose yards with 7,573 and an NCAA record 34 games of 100-plus yards rushing. He ended his career ranked fourth all-time in NCAA history with 6,026 rushing yards.
The Panthers chose to tag this release as a Post-June 1 Designation, which the CBA allows each team the opportunity to do with up to two veteran releases per league year. Under the terms of the Post-June 1 Designation rule, teams can apply the designation to a veteran released between the first day of the league year and the final day of May. The salary cap handling for such a release is then treated as if the release had occurred on June 2 or later of the same league year; therefore all amortized bonus amounts that had previously been charged beyond the current league year would not accelerate forward into the league year in which the player is released.
