Wide receiver Mike Williams is set to start team drills with the New York Jets starting next week.
Williams revealed the news during his media availability on Monday, August 19.
WR Mike Williams tells @nyjets reporters that he expects to take team reps in practice next week.
The veteran wideout tore his ACL while he was a member of the Los Angeles Chargers during their Week 3 matchup versus the Minnesota Vikings.
Former Clemson Product Ready to Step on the Field
Rich Cimini of ESPN explained on social media that Williams joining team drill is the “last hurdle before he’s cleared” for the Week 1 season opener versus the San Francisco 49ers.
Williams, 29, signed with the green and white this offseason on a one-year deal for $10 million.
The Jets have been extremely cautious with Williams’ return to full football activities protocol this offseason. However, he has healed even faster than they projected.
“The good news is he’s a lot further ahead than we anticipated,” head coach Robert Saleh admitted on August 8. Williams was activated off of the PUP [physically unable to perform list] and has been participating in individual drills.
#Jets HC Robert Saleh said veteran WR Mike Williams is ‘a lot further ahead than we anticipated.’ 👀😤
‘If I’m not mistaken he was out at individual, some route running stuff early, so that’s kind of going to be his progression. He will be involved in all of the walkthroughs,…
If Williams returns to team drills next week, he would have two weeks give or take, to get himself ready for Week 1.
Saleh has compared Williams’ recovery timeline to that of Breece Hall. Hall also tore his ACL the year prior and the Jets brought him along slowly.
He played in last year’s season opener against the Buffalo Bills. During that contest, he only had 10 carries. Although he made the most of them. The first two Hall rushing attempts of the game went for 26 and 83 yards respectively.
Saleh was asked if he would hold back Williams in the same fashion by essentially keeping him on a pitch count early in the year.
“We’ll see running backs and receivers are a little bit different. Ya know with running backs with the pounding that they take. So I really don’t have an answer for you on that one. We’ll see,” Saleh said.
Williams Speaks out on His Jets Recovery and What He Brings to the Table
“I feel good, it’s just about getting the repetition in, getting the reps in,” Williams told the media.
Williams said if he didn’t feel healthy or ready, then he wouldn’t be making the jump into teams next week.
“He adds a lot just in terms of defenses having to balance out in terms of how they have to disperse their coverage. Where you’re not just paying all of the attention to Breece [Hall], you gotta deal with Garrett [Wilson], you gotta deal with [Tyler] Conklin, you have to deal with Mike, so the balance of the offense from a defensive perspective it becomes balanced. It allows you to become more creative in your play design,” Saleh explained.
Jets wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson said it is a coach’s dream to have “two No. 1 wide receivers” and he believes this team has that.
Williams has played with elite offensive talent before, his running mate for the majority of his career was star wide receiver Keenan Allen. Now he will have another talented pass catcher working across from him in 2024.
