Cincinnati Bengals rookie offensive tackle Jonah Williams has a tall task in front of him in the wake of his surgery to repair a torn labrum.
While new information has shown Williams wouldn’t have been able to play through the injury at all, it’s also worth keeping in mind a full recovery could take about six months.
But it isn’t all bad news.
Other pros who have suffered the same injury completed some remarkable turnarounds recently. As Paul Dehner Jr. of the Athletic pointed out, New Orleans Saints tackle Terron Armstead went down with the same injury in June before the 2017 season, yet only missed the first six weeks. While he wasn’t 100 percent, he was on the field having an impact and he went to the Pro Bowl in 2018.
Detroit Lions tackle Taylor Decker had a similar trajectory, suffering the injury at the same time as Armstead. He missed only eight games and wasn’t great upon his return, but he’s still tabbed as a critical long-term piece for the organization moving forward.
Granted, it wouldn’t be wise to expect similar things from Williams. Most teams don’t have the luxury of turning back to a natural starter at left tackle like Cordy Glenn. That alone might mean the Bengals keep Williams off the field even if he wants to attempt a comeback.
But in the wake of such devastating news, it’s nice to see examples of players who beat the expected timeframes and didn’t have it derail their careers.
