Sean Payton Offers New Timeline for Injured Broncos RB Javonte Williams
After what has felt like months and months of radio silence, but, in all reality, has been just a couple of weeks, Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton held court with local media on Saturday. Following a day of practice for rookie minicamp, Payton tackled one question that has been one of the most speculated topics of the offseason.
What is the timetable for No. 1 running back Javonte Williams returning to practice? We've heard Broncos GM George Paton wager that he hopes to have Williams back by the regular season opener. Payton was much more bullish.
"Our current starter [Williams] is doing extremely well," Payton said. "I would tell you that we expect him to be ready for the start of training camp and that's good news. His rehab is going well. I don't want to speak for him or [Vice President of Player Health & Performance] Beau [Lowery] or anyone else, but we get the daily reports. We’re pretty tight-lipped relative to information going out, but I've read a lot and I think his rehab is going well.”
This is phenomenal news, and because it's Payton saying it, a coach renowned for playing his cards close to the vest, the veracity of his statement is on more solid ground. Williams suffered a multi-ligament knee injury in Week 4 of last season, missing what remained of the campaign.
With a complex surgery to reconstruct his knee and a laborious months-long process of recovery and rehabilitation, Williams' outlook has been understandably cloudy. But if there was a silver lining to his knee injury, it was that it happened relatively early in the 2022 season, which could be helping his recovery timeline.
Just in case, the Broncos signed two veterans in free agency — Samaje Perine and Tony Jones Jr. — to hedge against the possibility of Williams suffering any setbacks in his recovery. The Broncos also signed two college free-agent backs after the draft.
In an effort to help insulate and elevate Russell Wilson, Payton plans to deploy a potent power running game in Denver. Having a healthy Williams would certainly help in that endeavor.
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