Mike Williams Waived by Bills: Latest Details, Comments and Reaction

The Buffalo Bills waived wide receiver Mike Williams on Monday less than a year after trading for him.    

The Bills' official Twitter account confirmed the transaction:

ESPN's Adam Schefter added more details on the situation:

Williams was thought to be a potential top target or No. 2 receiver in the Bills' uptempo offense, with designs to surround young quarterback EJ Manuel with as many weapons as possible.

However, Manuel was benched in favor of veteran Kyle Orton, and Williams took a backseat in Buffalo while other playmakers made the most of their opportunities. Williams has had just eight receptions for 142 yards and a touchdown this season.

Williams' agent was given permission to seek out a trade for his client back in mid-October, which didn't please head coach Doug Marrone.

"Someone else's problems all of a sudden become my problems," said Marrone at the time, via NFL.com's Gregg Rosenthal.

This move may be a cost-inflicting wound to the Bills' cap space, but it doesn't diminish their offensive prospects at all. Between 2014 first-round pick Sammy Watkins, Robert Woods, Chris Hogan and Marquise Goodwin, Buffalo still has plenty of pass-catchers for the future.

The bigger concern is that the Bills don't have a first-round draft choice in 2015 since they traded up to get Watkins. Despite being in relative playoff contention, they also don't have a sure long-term answer at quarterback.

Free agency should loom large in Buffalo this offseason, so losing valuable currency from the failed investment in Williams makes his brief tenure all the more disappointing.

Williams is talented, so he should get a new lease on NFL life on the strength of two prior, strong seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2010 and 2012, when he totaled a combined 20 touchdown catches.