NFL Free Agency: Inking Mario Williams to Big Contract Perfect Move for Bills

Lengthy, expensive contracts have been known to destroy franchises throughout the years, especially if said contracts turn out to be ill-advised.

But sometimes it's worth spending a lot on one player, and the Buffalo Bills made the right move signing Mario Williams to a six-year, $100 million contract on Thursday, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Williams was not only the second-best free agent on the market this offseason, but he's only 27 years old and he's in the prime of his career. He has 53.5 sacks in 82 career games and can play both defensive end and outside linebacker, as he showed with the Houston Texans.

In a perfect world, the Bills would have built their pass rush via the draft with young, up-and-coming players. But it certainly wasn't a perfect world for the Bills last season, finishing 6-10 and recording only 29 sacks (10 coming in one game). That's why this move was needed.

But it's not like the Bills are making a desperate move. Williams is worth the money and he's still relatively young. He's a guy that can single-handedly change a defense, and he makes the Bills much, much better in 2012.

Now the Bills can either address other needs in the draft or add to the pass rush with someone like South Carolina's Melvin Ingram or Alabama's Courtney Upshaw.

This is a landmark signing for a franchise trying to get off the ground and compete in the intimidating AFC East. Williams will certainly intimidate, and you can bet the Bills' AFC East foes, including Tom Brady, aren't too happy with this signing.

And if Peyton Manning ends up with the Miami Dolphins, now he has to deal with Williams. That's not a good sign for a guy coming off four neck surgeries.

The Bills have not only drastically helped their pass rush, but they have the potential to actually scare some teams on defense. When's the last time the Bills were able to do that?

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