[Note by River City Rage, 07/11/08 1:51 PM EDT ] Thanks again to RobbC at JagNation for posting this!
JagNation is reporting that Thomas Williams has signed a 5 year deal that included a signing bonus.
RobbC got it up on the Fanpost before I even knew about it, great job bro... This site has a great readership and I want to say thanks to all of you for being so active, it makes the site that much better for everyone.
JagNation.com has confirmed that the Jacksonville Jaguars have signed fifth-round pick Thomas Williams to a four-year deal.
The former USC outside linebacker will receive the following base salaries: (2008) $295,000 (2009) $385,000 (2010) $470,000 (2011) $555,000 along with a signing bonus of around $174,000.
The undersized Williams will likely compete for playing time on the weak-side.
Williams is the second of Jacksonville's 2008 draft class to sign a contract.
In my opinion this is just another rookie signing. He still may not make the team, but the guaranteed signing bonus should give him an ever so slight boost. He'll clearly be a special teams guy first, but his versatility is his true value. He comes in having already been cross-trained in all three linebacker positions, that's a rarity in college. USC has also been a linebacker manufacturing company for years now, so being a back-up there isn't half-bad. He's clearly humble and stayed to learn as much as he could from the much heralded USC coaching staff rather than transferring to another school to start. He may turn out to be a steal, but for now, he's just a rookie.
-Collin