WR Williams faces another season with painful injury
Wide receiver Tyrell Williams may be facing another pain-filled season.
Finally healthy after playing with plantar fasciitis on both feet in his first year with the Raiders, Williams will attempt to play through a torn labrum in 2020.
The news was first reported by NFL Media and confirmed independently.
Williams was projected to be a starter alongside first-round draft pick Henry Ruggs III, with Hunter Renfrow as the Raiders’ first man up and usually in the slot.
After signing a four-year contract worth a maximum of $44 million, Williams missed two games in 2019 with his heel issues and suited up but didn’t catch a pass in the regular-season finale. He was limited in terms of effec
tiveness for the better part of the season and caught 42 passes for 651 yards. Just one of Williams’ six touchdown receptions came in November and December.
One option for the Raiders would be to place Williams on injured reserve the day after the final roster cutdown. He then would have to miss half the season. That’s a decision the Raiders won’t have to make until Sept. 5 as they monitor Williams’ progress.
In contrast to previous years, NFL teams can bring back an unlimited number of players from injured reserve provided they miss six weeks then have a two-week acclimation period — a total of eight games.
In the meantime, rookie Bryan Edwards and veterans Nelson Agholor and Zay Jones appear to be next in line to pick up the slack in Williams’ absence.
Edwards was a 2020 third-round pick out of South Carolina, No. 81 overall, and has received glowing reviews from both coaches and teammates. He’s the closest thing to Williams in terms of a size/speed combination at 6-foot-3, 215 pounds.
Agholor signed with the Raiders in free agency after four seasons with Philadelphia, where he was a fourth-round draft pick.
Jones was an in-season acquisition last year, acquired from Buffalo for a fifth-round draft pick. Jones caught 20 passes for 147 yards with a long gain of 16 in 10 games with seven starts for the Raiders.
During the offseason, Jones was a regular at practice sessions organized by Derek Carr in the Las Vegas area to become more integrated with the system and his quarterback.
Other wide receivers on the Raiders’ roster include Keelan Doss, Marcel Ateman, Rico Gafford and De’Mornay Pierson-El.
• Chris Smith, a six-year veteran with Jacksonville and Cleveland, was added to the roster. Smith has played in 60 games with two starts and has 8 1/2 career sacks. The Raiders waived defensive end/outside linebacker Nick Usher to make room on the roster.
Smith’s signing comes a day after they signed veteran running back Theo Reddick and linebacker Kyle Emanuel and waived running back William Stanback and linebacker Bryce Hager.