Mario Williams to the Dolphins seems to be getting closer

The Miami Dolphins appear to be closing in on their first signing of the 2016 offseason. The Dolphins visited earlier this week with former Buffalo Bills defensive end Mario Williams, a legal meeting since Williams was released by the Bills and is not becoming a free agent because of an expiring contract, and now, it appears the two sides may be circling back to a contract:

#Dolphins nearing a deal with DE Mario Williams on a new deal. May be worth roughly $8M per year. May allow team to cut DE Cam Wake.

— Jason Cole (@JasonColeBR) March 8, 2016

Dolphins, Mario Williams could do a deal on Tuesday https://t.co/7CJN3vWoYf

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) March 8, 2016

Williams was expected to visit with the New York Giants on Tuesday, but that meeting was cancelled. The Jacksonville Jaguars are also expected to be interested in Williams, but the Dolphins appear to be the favorite to land the 2006 first overall draft pick.

The Dolphins need to address the defensive end position, where they are expected to lose Olivier Vernon, who was given the transition tag this offseason but is expected to draw a higher contract on the open market.

Tying Williams to the status of Cameron Wake may be a little bit of a stretch, but it does appear to be picking up steam in the rumor mill. Wake, who is 34 years old and is coming off a torn Achilles' tendon, was approached by the team about restructuring his contract, be he declined to negotiate. The Dolphins were expected to keep him, but his