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ESPN Senior Writer- ESPN NFL Insider
- Joined ESPN in 2009
- Former president of the Pro Football Writers of America and the author of four books
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ESPN Insider- Field Yates is a fantasy football expert and NFL draft analyst for ESPN. You can find him on Fantasy Football Now on Sunday mornings and regularly on NFL Live throughout the week, as well as the Fantasy Focus and First Draft podcasts. A graduate of Wesleyan University (CT) and native of Weston, Mass., Yates has previous experience interning with the New England Patriots on both their coaching and scouting staffs.
San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Ian Williams underwent ankle surgery after the season, which has left his status for the 2016 season opener in question and caused him and the team to redo the five-year deal the two sides agreed on during free agency, according to league sources.
After Williams could not pass his physical, he and the 49ers needed to redo their five-year, $27.5 million contract and instead created a one-year deal worth up to $6 million that includes no guaranteed money, the sources said.
Williams' agent, Drew Rosenhaus, has been very up-front from the beginning that his client underwent a procedure after the season.
The contract includes just $1 million in base salary. For each game that Williams is on the 46-man game-day roster, he will earn $125,000, up to $2 million total.
The one-year deal is expected to give Williams the chance to become a free agent again after next season, but his ankles will likely continue to be an issue.
The 6-foot-1, 305-pound nose tackle is coming off his most productive season. Starting in all 16 games, Williams had a career-high 65 tackles with one sack, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, a pass defended and a blocked kick.
ESPN 49ers reporter Paul Gutierrez contributed to this report.