New York Jets Major Free Agent Addition 'Ahead of Schedule' on Injury Timeline

New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh provided a positive update on the injury recovery timeline for WR Mike Williams, who has returned to practice.

Nov 22, 2020; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Mike Williams (81) catches a pass against New York Jets cornerback Arthur Maulet (23) during the third quarter at SoFi Stadium. / Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

So far, wide receiver Mike Williams is easing any concerns about his regular season availability.

Coming off an ACL tear suffered in Week 3 last year with the Los Angeles Chargers, the New York Jets' free-agent offensive addition started training camp on the Physically Unable to Performer (PUP) list. On August 7, the Jets activated Williams off PUP, and one day later, the projected WR2 was on the practice field for a joint session with the Washington Commanders.

"The good news is, obviously, he's a lot further ahead than we anticipated. If I'm not mistaken, he was out at individual and some route running stuff early, so that's going to kind of be his progression," said fourth-year head coach Robert Saleh after Thursday's combined practice.

Since the signing in March, Saleh has compared Williams's injury recovery timeline to the path traveled by running back Breece Hall in 2023.

Hall was also coming off an ACL tear and began last summer on PUP. He was highly effective in Week 1 despite not being activated until August 15, 2023. The running back did not see any preseason game action prior to the Monday Night Football season opener.

"He'll be involved in all the walkthroughs, individual, routes on air," said Saleh on the immediate plan for Williams moving forward. "For the next week or two that's about the extent of what we'll see unless he starts feeling good, but we'll anticipate him getting back into teamwork, maybe a couple weeks from now."

Williams, who will turn 30 years old on October 4, owns a 15.6 yards per reception career average over 88 games with the Chargers. His deep-ball prowess is a factor that opposing defenses must account for and could open up more opportunities for quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

"[Williams] adds a lot [to the offense]. Just in terms of defenses having to balance out how they disperse their coverage where you're not just paying attention to Garrett, and now you've got to deal with Breece Hall, [Tyler] Conklin, Mike," said Saleh.

As for whether or not Williams will be a full go when the New York visits the San Francisco 49ers on September 9, the head coach was non-committal.

"I really don't have an answer for you on that one, we'll see how these next few weeks go, but I'm just really excited for him and the fact that he's a lot further ahead than we anticipated," said Saleh.