Cheesehead
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- Mar 19, 2019
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Admittedly "sad" his backfield mate had to miss the game due to a calf injury, Williams made sure the Packers' offense didn't miss Jones in its bounce-back performance.
Williams rushed 19 times for 77 yards and caught four passes for 37 more, with the 114 yards from scrimmage marking a season best and his eight career combined 100-yard effort. The 23 touches were also a season high by almost 50% (he had 16 vs. Atlanta) and the most he's had in a game since the final week of his rookie season in 2017.
He emerged no worse for wear – "Especially when you win, it helps you get past the soreness quickly," he said – no doubt in part due to the extensive offseason conditioning work he put in. He reported to training camp a tad trimmer, which has shown up in his speed and explosiveness, and he developed his route-running along the way, too.
The complete package he brings has prompted LaFleur, quarterback Aaron Rodgers and others to express the utmost confidence in Williams performing any role or handling any workload required.
With the Packers playing two games in a span of five days, Sunday vs. Minnesota and then next Thursday night at San Francisco, and with calf injuries always tricky, there's no telling how the backfield duties between Jones, Williams and rookie AJ Dillon will be divvied up in the near future here.
Like Jones, as a 2017 draftee Williams is in a contract year, and it would seem unlikely both would be back on second deals with a second-round pick in Dillon in the fold. Anything he can do in Jones' stead should only help him with whatever unfolds in the offseason, and while he's not naïve to that, his approach is to focus on the present and let the present take care of the future.