Dolphins CB Trill Williams Facing 'Big Battle' After Knee Injury

The Miami Dolphins lost cornerback Trill Williams in the fourth quarter of their preseason opener at Tampa Bay

Cornerback Trill Williams indeed sustained a severe knee injury in the final minutes of the Miami Dolphins' 26-24 victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their preseason opener Saturday night.

Williams sustained a torn ACL, according to a source, and while head coach Mike McDaniel did not specify the nature of the injury when he addressed the media Sunday, he did say the injury was "severe."

McDaniel also was it was premature to conclude that Williams would end up on injured reserve, but didn't dismiss the possibility.

“I wouldn’t go as far as to say that just because you’re careful not to get ahead of yourself with all of the medical opinions that are currently in that process right now," he said. "But it does seem severe and I wouldn’t be completely surprised if that is the case. But I wouldn’t be willing to stamp that. That would be kind of inappropriate and a little jumping the gun.”

Williams and his father, Tre, certainly suggested on Twitter the injury would require a significant recovery.

WILLIAMS WAS HAVING A GREAT CAMP

Williams, a second-year player who the Dolphins claimed off waivers from the New Orleans last season, was having a very productive training camp this summer, standing out among cornerbacks not named Xavien Howard.

The injury occurred on a great play he made against the Bucs, tackling wide receiver Deven Thompson for a 5-yard loss after he caught a wide receiver screen. Williams immediately grabbed his left knee after the play and then pounded the turf at Raymond James Stadium in frustration and/or pain.

“First and foremost, you hate to see an injury like that for a guy that’s been working as diligently as Trill has," McDaniel said. "He was an example of a player early on that I could tell, in a healthy way, that he wasn’t totally happy with where he was at in terms of depth. You want to talk about an example of a player handling that the right way and transferring that energy to the point where he’s been making plays daily on the ball. You can tell from his teammates how pumped they were for him.

"It’s one of the hard things about the profession that I really struggle with when I see that happen to someone. At the same time, I think he’s proven time and time again that things of that nature won’t keep him back over the long haul. The challenge is to make that thing happen for a good reason and come back stronger and better. It’s something that I think hurt the hearts of the whole team, myself included."