According to multiple reports, Denver Broncos star running back Javonte Williams suffered a torn ACL during their loss to the Raiders yesterday. The MRI also revealed that he also suffered a torn LCL and posterior lateral corner. This sounds like a serious knee injury and is a serious knee injury.
Not only does #Broncos RB Javonte Williams have a torn ACL, but the MRI revealed a a torn LCL and posterior lateral corner, sources say. A significant injury and a long road back.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 3, 2022
Obviously, Williams will be out for the year and miss most if not all of the upcoming offseason. Hopefully, he will be able to participate in some portion of training camp and be ready for the 2023 season opener.
With Williams now out for at least the rest of this season, the Broncos are going to have to rely on veteran Melvin Gordon more. We all know his fumble issues and will likely be on a short leash moving forward. We will also see a lot more of Mike Boone moving forward as well.
Boone flashed potential and explosiveness during the preseason and does not have the fumbling issues that Gordon has. While it will still be a split backfield, I would not be surprised to see Boone start edging Gordon in the backfield a bit. With that said, Gordon figures to get a majority of the red zone carries moving forward. He just needs to stop fumbling the ball.
Also, look for Devine Ozigbo to be called up from the Broncos practice squad to serve as the offense's third running back. He hasn’t had much success in the league but can fill the special teams role that Boone occupies on game days, at least for this week. The Broncos play on Thursday Night Football this week, so they can only make so many changes. After that game though, I could see them looking to address that backfield more seriously.
In the end, it really sucks to see such a promising looking back like Williams suffer an injury like this. With it being such a serious injury, we have no idea if he will ever return to his pre-injury form or if this injury will rob him of what looked to be a promising future in the NFL. This injury will also sideline him for likely all of the upcoming offseason and potentially into the season as well. Look at how Ravens running back J.K. Dobbins is slowly returning from a serious knee injury. He missed a few games of the regular season and hasn’t looked 100% since returning. The Broncos will now need to address the running back position this offseason with the uncertainty surrounding Javonte’s knee moving forward.
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