MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Miami Dolphins center Connor Williams is apparently willing to part with money to make money. On Tuesday, Williams was an unexcused absence at the Dolphins’ first mandatory minicamp of 2023, continuing his boycott of the team’s spring practices ahead of his contract season.
The Dolphins are permitted to fine Williams for skipping these practices — $15,000 for the first day, and more than $90,000 if he misses all three.
Connor Williams Minicamp Holdout Update
Williams is in the final year of a two-year, $14 million free agent contract he signed before the 2022 season. His $7 million AAV places him in the top 10 of NFL centers, and he’s owed up to $7 million in salary and performance bonuses this year.
But Williams is guaranteed only $2 million this year and nothing next. He presumably wants that to change — and is willing to incur fines to make it happen.
“I try to understand every player’s perspective,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Tuesday. “I think part of my job is to be empathetic to [players], to best come to a solution. So, there’s a bunch of things that come up, a bunch of stuff that have come up this offseason, that came up last offseason, that will come up next offseason. So that’s always something that you’re juggling with a couple players.”
Williams’ absence leaves the Dolphins thin at center, particularly with Michael Deiter off the roster and Dan Feeney limited by some sort of leg issue. That has left new offensive line coach Butch Barry without a ton of great options during the spring.
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One creative short-term solution: Liam Eichenberg, a tackle-turned-guard who acknowledged this spring that he has taken snaps at center.
Eichenberg’s most likely long-term home is left guard, but it is revealing that the Dolphins are using Williams’ absence to see what he can do at center.
