Where Does RB DeAngelo Williams Stack Up Among Free Agents in 2015?

It's a hard-knocks life for running backs in today's NFL.

Given the wear-and-tear associated with the position, many teams are no longer comfortable using a first-round draft pick on running backs. Lucrative long-term contract extensions are out too, to the point where the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year may actually hit the open market.

It's been quite a while since DeAngelo Williams of the Carolina Panthers performed at a Pro Bowl level, and with his monstrous 2008 season well in the rearview mirror the 31-year-old now faces a very uncertain market for his services.

That's because as Williams himself told WBTV, he's been told by general manager Dave Gettleman and head coach Ron Rivera that he's going to be released by the Panthers:

"

We sat down and he told me "The fact of the matter is we're going to have to release you." I said you know, "Why?" and he said, "because we don't run the ball enough. Just like you said back before the season started, we don't run the ball enough to keep you and both [Jonathan Stewart], so we're going to release you."

"

The move is hardly surprising. Since the Panthers selected Williams in the first round of the 2007 NFL draft, he has piled up over 6,800 rushing yards and scored 53 total touchdowns. But Williams hasn't gained 1,000 yards in a season since 2009.

Year	Games	Att.	Yds.	Avg.	TD	Rec.	Yds.	TD
2006	13	121	501	4.1	1	33	313	0
2007	16	144	717	5.0	4	23	175	1
2008	16	273	1515	5.5	18	22	121	0
2009	13	216	1117	5.2	7	29	252	3
2010	6	87	361	4.1	1	11	61	1
2011	16	155	836	5.4	7	16	135	0
2012	16	173	737	4.3	5	13	187	2
2013	15	201	843	4.2	3	26	333	2
2014	6	62	219	3.5	0	5	44	1

In Williams' last season with over 200 carries, he ranked 30th among NFL running backs at Pro Football Focus. After career lows in rushing yards (219) and yards per carry (3.5) in 2014, and with a cap number of over $6 million this year, per Spotrac, the writing was on the wall.

The question now becomes whether that wall also reads "end of the line."

According to Evan Silva of Rotoworld (via Yahoo Sports), Williams checks in at 15th among this year's free-agent running backs, just ahead of Chris Johnson and just behind Ben Tate.

Rank	Player	Team	Age	2014 Yards
1	DeMarco Murray	DAL	27	1,845
2	C.J. Spiller	BUF	27	300
3	Ryan Mathews	SD	27	330
4	Mark Ingram	NO	25	964
5	Justin Forsett	BAL	29	1,266
6	Frank Gore	SF	31	1,106
7	Shane Vereen	NE	25	391
8	Stevan Ridley	NE	26	340
9	Roy Helu	WAS	26	216
10	Ahmad Bradshaw	IND	28	425
11	Darren McFadden	OAK	27	534
12	Knowshon Moreno	MIA	27	148
13	Ray Rice	BAL	28	0
14	Ben Tate	CLE/MIN	26	371
15	DeAngelo Williams	CAR	31	219
16	Chris Johnson	NYJ	29	663

Sandwiched between a has-been and a never was.

Granted, there's just no comparing Williams to some of the names on that list. DeMarco Murray just led the NFL in rushing. C.J. Spiller's NFL career has been an injury-marred mess to date, but he's still only 27 years old. Ditto for Ryan Mathews and Darren McFadden. At 25, Mark Ingram and Shane Vereen are younger still.

However, there are a handful of backs on the list who would appear to set a reasonable baseline for comparison. Each are past the age of 28, when many running backs begin to decline. Most are already visibly demonstrating that decline.

And even then, the comparison is not a flattering one.

Gary Davenport/Bleacher Report

Among the six backs we compared (Williams, Justin Forsett, Frank Gore, Ahmad Bradshaw, Ray Rice and Chris Johnson), Williams was the only back who hasn't topped 1,000 yards on the ground once in the past five seasons.

Only Justin Forsett has fewer total rushing yards over the past five seasons than Williams, and Forsett spent only one of those years as a starter. That was 2014, when Forsett topped 1,200 yards for the Baltimore Ravens.

Maybe things look better if you examine the backs on a "per touch" basis.

Gary Davenport/Bleacher Report

OK, maybe not.

Of the six, only Ray Rice averaged fewer yards per carry in 2014 than DeAngelo Williams, and Rice didn't play at all after being let go by the Ravens.  The next-closest backs (Gore and Johnson) averaged nearly a full yard more per tote.

While it's Gore who best compares to Williams so far as age and workload are concerned, we've yet to see a significant drop-off in his play. In that respect, Johnson may well be the closest comparison.

Much like the running back formerly known as "CJ2K," Williams just isn't the back he used to be. He hasn't been for some time. The guy who topped 1,500 rushing yards and scored 20 total touchdowns in 2008 is long gone.

Williams looks 31 years old. And that's a bad look for a ball-carrier.

It's also a look that leaves Williams at something of a career crossroads. Although he's played his entire career for the Panthers, Williams insisted there are no hard feelings toward his (now) former team:

"

I don't feel bitter at all. [Stewart] had the hot hand at the end of the season. He's a great running back, obviously, uh, I don't feel bitter at all. It's a business. And that business comes back and reminds us year after year - whether it be Steve Smith, whether it be Jordan Gross, whether it be myself - it's going to happen to every guy in that locker room, so it doesn't bother me at all.

"

That business is also going to seriously hinder the market for Williams' services. The running back position has become devalued in recent years. Much less an over-30 tailback who is clearly in decline as a player.

Mind you, this isn't to say that there won't be any market at all for Williams. At the very least he could provide teams with veteran depth and a complementary presence in the backfield. As recently as two years ago Williams was a top-10 running back as a blocker, according to PFF.

However, NFL teams aren't going to pay big money (or any money, really) for that. If Williams wishes to continue his career, it's going to be on short-term, low-dollar deals.

It may not be what DeAngelo Williams wants to hear. It's certainly not what his agent wants to hear.

But for a lower-end free agent at a position where the market's often slow, the reality is that's a hard-knocks life.

And as Williams himself said, it happens to everybody.

Gary Davenport is an NFL Analyst at Bleacher Report and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and the Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Gary on Twitter @IDPManor.