Countdown to Kickoff: Jonah Williams is the Saints Player of Day 54

USA Today

15-07-2025

Williams may be a dark horse roster candidate to make the team
There is a 54 day wait remaining before the New Orleans Saints start their 2025 regular season. The Saints will start this, their 59th NFL season, at home against the Arizona Cardinals. Joining new Saints head coach Kellen Moore are several new faces on the coaching staff and among the player personnel. One of those new players is defensive lineman Jonah Williams. Our Saints Player of the Day, Williams is also in current possession of uniform No. 54.
Only Weber State offered Williams a football scholarship out of Rocky Mountain High School in Idaho. Before starting at Weber State, Williams served a nearly two-year Latter-Day Saint mission in Brazil. Once arriving at Weber State, he'd be a four-year starter that forced 3 fumbles and had 15 sacks and 28 tackles for loss through his career with the Wildcats.
Bypassed in the 2020 NFL draft, Williams was signed by the Los Angeles Rams and Brandon Staley, their defensive coordinator at the time. Williams didn't make it past final roster cuts for the Rams in 2020, but spent time on the team's practice squad that year and would make their 2021 active roster. He'd play in eight games for the Rams to start the 2021 campaign, playing in 96 defensive snaps before being waived. The Minnesota Vikings briefly picked Williams up, but released him after a failed physical. He'd return to the Rams, where he'd finish the year on the practice squad and earned a Super Bowl LVI championship ring.
Williams remained with the Rams through the 2023 season. He would appear in 33 of 34 games, making 22 starts and recording 2.5 sacks with 4 tackles for loss among 72 total stops. During the 2024 offseason, Williams would return to the Vikings as a free agent. He would play in one game with Minnesota before being signed off their practice squad by the Rams once again. After six contests with Los Angeles, Williams was poached off their practice squad by the Detroit Lions. Williams played three games with Detroit to end the year, including their loss in the divisional round of the playoffs.
New Orleans signed Jonah Williams this offseason in free agency. He'll be reunited with Brandon Staley, the Saints defensive coordinator who coached him in Los Angeles. Williams appears to have an uphill battle to make the roster in a crowded New Orleans defensive line. However, it is also a defensive front desperate for playmakers. Williams brings some scheme versatility with his ability to slide inside. He's worth watching as a potential dark horse roster candidate as the Saints begin training camp in just one week.