Injury Took Former Titan to 'Dark Places'

Avery Williamson missed one game in five years before he was sidelined for all of 2019.

Things were different for Avery Williamson in 2019. And he did not like it.

The former Tennessee Titans linebacker missed the entire 2019 season because of a knee injury sustained during the second preseason game. For a player accustomed to being in uniform and on the field, months of rehabilitation presented challenges.

"I had my moments where I was in some dark places and didn’t want to talk to anybody,” Williamson said this week, via The Associated Press. “But I feel like I’ve moved past it and just the fact that I’m running and stuff, and I’m able to move and I’m closer to being on the field, that’s the happiness that I want to have.

“That makes me feel good.”

Williamson signed with the Jets in 2018 after four seasons with the Titans, who took him in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. Prior to 2019, he missed one game in five seasons and started all but four of the 79 in which he appeared.

He led Tennessee in tackles twice, with 137 in 2015 and 149 in 2016. In the last decade, only Wesley Woodyard with 172 (2017) and Stephen Tulloch with 169 (2010) had more in a single season for the Titans. In 2018, he topped the Jets with 120 tackles.

Williamson’s recovery from the knee injury is not quite complete. He started training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list and has not yet been added to the active roster. But he is getting close.

“I’m feeling good,” Williamson said. “I’ve been feeling really good since, I’d say, probably like May or June. I just really started turning the corner, doing a lot of running and the workload has increased over the months. ... As long as I’m ready for the season, which I know I will be, that’s all that matters.”