DeAngelo Williams, the Carolina Panthers’ career rushing leader, said Monday he will be released by the team.

Williams told WBTV that general manager David Gettleman and coach Ron Rivera informed him of the coming move in a meeting last week.

Williams, 31, leads the 20-year-old franchise with 1,432 rushes, 6,846 yards and 46 rushing touchdowns, but he has battled injuries over the last few years while also sharing time with fellow first-round pick Jonathan Stewart.

Last year, Williams played in just six games due to injuries to a thigh, ankle and hand.

Williams, Carolina’s first-round pick in 2006, said Gettleman and Rivera told him, “We don’t run the ball enough to keep you both, so we’re going to release you.”

Stewart, the team’s first-round pick in 2008, finished the 2014 season strong, going over 100 yards in three of his final six games — including 123 in a 27-16 playoff win over the Arizona Cardinals. Stewart’s 809 yards in 2014 were his most since he tallied 1,133 in 2009.

—The Indianapolis Colts released defensive tackle Ricky Jean Francois.

The 28-year-old Jean Francois, who was due to make $5.5 million this year, was signed by the Colts on March 14, 2013.

Over the past two seasons, Jean Francois played in 26 regular-season games (23 starts) and recorded 54 tackles, 5.5 sacks, six passes defensed and one fumble recovery. He also added nine tackles and 1.5 sacks in five playoff games (two starts).

He spent his first four seasons (2009-2012) with the San Francisco 49ers after being selected in the seventh round of the 2009 draft.

—During an intense verbal altercation that required the sides to be physically separated last week, the agent for Adrian Peterson reportedly told a Minnesota Vikings executive that the running back would never play for the team again.

The incident, first reported by CBSSports.com and also verified by ESPN.com and others, took place at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.

Ben Dogra, Peterson’s agent, engaged in an angry discussion with Vikings vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski, and they were separated by former Tampa Bay general manager Mark Dominik, according to the reports.

Dogra’s reported message to Brzezinski is an apparent reflection of Peterson’s desire to move on from the Vikings in the wake of their treatment of him during his child-abuse case.

After backlash from media, the Vikings place Peterson on the Commissioner’s Exempt List for the rest of the season.

— The Arizona Cardinals released wide receiver/kick returner Ted Ginn Jr.

Ginn played just one year of the three-year, $9.75 million deal he signed a year ago. He made $3.25 million in 2014, working mainly as a return specialist. He returned 22 kickoffs for 417 yards and 26 punts for 277 yards and a touchdown.

He caught just 14 receptions for 190 yards.

If Ginn had been on the roster on March 12, $2 million of his $3.25 million salary for 2015 would have become guaranteed. The Cardinals saved $2.5 million vs. the salary cap by releasing him.

—The Cardinals reached agreements on new contracts with general manager Steve Keim and coach Bruce Arians.

Each is now under contract with the team through 2018.

“Two years ago we hired Steve and Bruce a few days apart and believed we had something really special,” Cardinals president Michael Bidwill said Monday in a statement. “Every day since then, they have done nothing but validate that belief. The team’s performance over the last two seasons certainly reflects how talented they are in their respective roles and it was important that we reward them for their accomplishments. I speak not only for myself but all Cardinals fans when I say how thrilled we all are that Steve and Bruce are now under contract through 2018.”

In 2014, the Cardinals tied the franchise record for wins a season (11) and earned a berth in the postseason despite 21 players missing 109 total games due to injury. Arizona’s 21 wins over the past two years are tied for the most in franchise history in back-to-back seasons.

—The New Orleans Saints reportedly have reached out to right guard Jahri Evans about the possibility of restructuring his contract.

Evans, the Saints’ anchor on the offensive line for nearly 10 seasons, faces an uncertain future with the team, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

The Saints are at least $20 million over the projected salary cap next season.

Evans, who was selected to the Pro Bowl for the sixth straight season in 2014, is set to make $7.5 million in salary and bonuses in 2015, with a cap hit of $11 million.

—The New York Giants plan to use the franchise tag on defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul if the two sides fail to reach a long-term deal by March 2, ESPN.com reported.

The Giants are working to secure Pierre-Paul before the five-year veteran becomes an unrestricted free agent on March 10. The deadline to apply the franchise tag is March 2.

Applying the franchise tag to Pierre-Paul will reportedly cost the team between $14.5 and $16 million, depending on final salary cap numbers. The salary cap is expected to be $143 million. By using the tag, the Giants can continue working on a long-term with Pierre-Paul until this summer.

—University of Connecticut defensive back Byron Jones highlighted Monday’s final workouts at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis with a standing broad jump of 12 feet, 3 inches that is not only the best ever at a combine, but a world record.

The previous world record for the broad jump was 12-2, set Nov. 11, 1968, by Norwegian Arne Tvervaag of the Ringerike FIK Sportclub.

Jones’ leap gave this year’s combine three of the four longest jumps at the NFL’s annual Indianapolis event this century, according to records kept by NFLDraftScout.com.

On Saturday, Georgia wide receiver Chris Conley went 11-7, which tied the previous combine record set in 2013 by Southern Mississippi linebacker Jamie Collins. On Sunday, Kentucky defensive end Alvin Dupree soared 11-6.

—The Minnesota Vikings signed linebacker Brian Peters, who played the last two seasons in the Canadian Football League.

In 2014, Peters led the Saskatchewan Roughriders with 78 tackles and added three sacks, one forced fumble and two interceptions, including one for a touchdown.

The 6-foot-3, 218-pound Peters played the 2012 season with the Iowa Barnstormers in the Arena Football League after a four-year career at Northwestern. During his collegiate career, Peters ranked third in school history with 12 career interceptions.

—The Seattle Seahawks, who already boast one of the loudest crowds in all of sports, are about to get a little louder.

The Seahawks announced Monday that they will add 1,000 seats to CenturyLink Field in time for the 2015 preseason. The expansion of the 67,000-seat stadium will be funded by the Seahawks.

The stadium and adjoining event center were built for $430 million in 2002, with the public funding $300 million and owner Paul Allen paying the rest.