And who is D.J. Williams, anyway? He might be a fine young man who loves his mother (or not... I have no way of knowing), but he's two years in and has not demonstrated the ability to run NFL pass routes. He's not much of a blocker either.
Just because a guy is young and TT drafted him doesn't mean he's more than a special teams player.
There are good points to be made on the "dump Finley" side of the argument, chiefly his salary/cap hit. However, the guys behind him on the bench serve as a "keep Finley" argument. You can like them, you can like some of the things they do, but they are a different class of player.
Those are valid points. Williams (or any of the TEs on the roster) may not be that good. Of course, they may be good. Won't know unless they play more.
With Finley, we have a five-year sample size. We know what we're getting with him: A player who'll make about 60 catches, 5-6 touchdowns per season, unreliable blocker and magnet for the media. Maybe a secret weapon against Cover-2 defenses.
$8.25 million? No thanks.
I'm not a fan of tight ends like Finley or Jared Cook. An every-down tight end must consistently block well. I'm not talking about "Jacked up" blocks to unsuspecting defenders; I'm talking about inline blocking for the ground game. Guys who are practically a sixth offensive lineman who can catch some passes when necessary. If they can catch like Tony G or Jason Witten then that's fantastic. But blocking is a must.
Top it off with the fact that Finley isn't that great of a receiver and he (or his agent, etc.) talks and dances too much...
For all the hype that these TE-wannabe WRs get, I look at the tight ends of last three Super Bowl champions: Andrew Quarless, Jake Ballard, Dennis Pitta.
Nothing to fancy there.