GREEN BAY, Wis. — Reinforcements could be coming to the Green Bay Packers’ receiving corps.
And their backfield.
Dual-threat Savion Williams, a third-round pick last spring, will practice on Wednesday as he inches closer toward making his season debut in the near future. That could come as early as Sunday’s first matchup of the season with the Chicago Bears, but the Packers don’t have any urgency to deploy him sooner than they need to with a fully healthy room of wideouts.
“He’s been ramping up with our strength coaches and our athletic trainers,” said head coach Matt LaFleur on Wednesday. “We’ll see how he handles this week.”
Williams was placed on injured reserve with an ankle injury that he originally sustained in the Packers’ Aug. 21 preseason game against the Denver Broncos. By returning to practice, the Packers will now have a 21-day window—until Oct. 28—to activate him to the 53-man roster. If they don’t do so within those three weeks, Williams will revert to injured reserve.
Williams has, unfortunately, become a mainstay on injured reserve. His rookie year ended there ahead of the Packers’ regular-season finale against the Minnesota Vikings after he gutted through a foot injury that plagued him for several weeks. He also began the season navigating a nagging hamstring issue, but he still managed to play in 12 games and appeared in some critical moments for the Packers’ offense.
The versatile Williams had more carries (11) than he did receptions (10) as a rookie, but he caught every target that came his way, accumulating 78 yards and an eight-yard touchdown reception in the team’s Oct. 28 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was also Williams that Jordan Love turned to in the waning moments of a Nov. 16 game against the New York Giants. Trailing 20-19, Love heaved up a third-and-10 pass for Williams, who elevated to make the 33-yard catch.
He was used heavily as a pre-snap motion man, giving the Packers immense flexibility to run jet sweeps and end-arounds. It’s an area of LaFleur’s playbook that he hasn’t necessarily been able to tap into this season. With a speedy, 6’4” chess piece, LaFleur can get creative with how he’s able to spread out opposing defenses. Only three teams—the New York Jets, the Washington Commanders, and the Giants—have utilized pre-snap motion at a lower rate than the Packers.
LaFleur has leaned heavily on pre-snap action through the years, and due to all of the faults in the Packers’ offense this season, whether it’s injuries or the inability to protect the quarterback, he’s had to stray from some of his tendencies. The same can’t be said of the other disciples around the league from the Mike Shanahan coaching tree. The San Francisco 49ers, led by his son, Kyle, are No. 3 in the league in pre-snap motion. The Los Angeles Chargers, whose offensive coordinator is Mike McDaniel, are No. 4. Sean McVay’s Los Angeles Rams are No. 9.
Even the Arizona Cardinals with LaFleur’s younger brother, Mike, at the helm as a first-year head coach, are No. 16.
Williams’ return is especially important now with Jayden Reed lost for the season after undergoing neck surgery last week. He’ll round out a room of receivers that consists of Christian Watson, Matthew Golden, Bo Melton, Skyy Moore, and J. Michael Sturdivant.
Zachary Jacobson is the author of The Packer Dispatch. He is entering his 12th season covering the Green Bay Packers after spending seven as the Editor-in-Chief of Packer Report. He is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America. Follow him on Twitter @zachjacobson or contact him via email at itszachariahj@gmail.com.