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After playing with dislocated wrist, Rams' Darrell Williams working his way back
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-ra...d-wrist-darrell-williams-working-his-way-back
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- The pain was unlike anything he had ever felt. But for St. Louis Rams offensive tackle Darrell Williams, leaving the team's Nov. 15 game against the Chicago Bears was simply not an option. Not even with a dislocated left wrist.
"Playing O-line, you get hand injuries all the time," Williams said. "Your hands hurt. But when I fell on it, it was a pain that I never felt before. So I got to the sideline and didn’t complain too much; I just asked them to wrap it up some more."
Such is life when you're an undrafted free agent trying to make your way in the league and take advantage of your first meaningful regular-season playing time.
Williams wasn't selected in the 2015 NFL draft despite a solid career at South Florida. Even after the Rams spent four draft picks on offensive linemen, Williams saw an opportunity and elected to sign with them as a rookie free agent. Still, Williams figured to face an uphill battle to make the 53-man roster, odds that only grew longer when the Rams used a supplemental draft pick on Clemson offensive tackle Isaiah Battle over the summer.
So when Williams made the team, he was one of the biggest surprises on the initial roster, joining receiver Bradley Marquez and linebacker Cameron Lynch as the only undrafted rookies to earn spots.
Williams was a pregame inactive in the Rams' first two games and four of the first five games before injuries elsewhere allowed him to be on the game-day roster and get a few snaps, mostly on special teams. In that game against Chicago, right tackle Robert Havenstein suffered a calf injury that got Williams onto the field.
Just 10 snaps into Williams' first extended action, Rams quarterback Nick Foles threw an interception to Bears linebacker Willie Young. As Young raced down the Rams sideline, Williams and fellow rookie offensive lineman Jamon Brown pursued him. Williams lunged to tackle Young and landed awkwardly on his wrist.
The pain was intense, and Williams wasn't sure the extent of it. As he returned to the sideline, he saw Brown being tended to. Brown had suffered a lower-leg fracture and was taken off the field.
Williams quickly assessed the team's offensive-line situation and recognized that his services would be needed.
"Honestly, I didn't want to complain too much because J.B. was down, so I got back in and finished the game," Williams said. "It was tough, but like I said, I didn't want to not finish out and then have it not be anything serious. I just kept with it. It was tough but I just finished."
How tough was it? Well, when Williams attempted to block with his wrist out of place, he said the pain was nearly unbearable and he realized he would be better off not using the hand at all.
"The first play back, I did try to test it out. And once I hit the guy, I realized it wasn't going to be much fun using that hand, so I kept it toward my chest and just played with my right hand the rest of the game," Williams said. "It was like a very sharp pain when I used it; that's the only way I can describe it. It was like nothing I felt before, because I had never had any injury like that before. It was just a sharp pain."
When the game was over, Williams went for X-rays, which revealed the dislocation, as well as some torn ligaments. Hours later, he had surgery to repair the wrist, ending his season just as it was beginning.
It was a tough blow for Williams, who almost certainly would have gotten some opportunities over the final parts of the season as injuries piled up along the line. But Williams acknowledged it was simply a bit of bad luck. Now he is aiming to be out of his cast by February and back to work soon after.
"I'm excited to get started for next season, get in the weight room, get strong, bigger, watch some more film," Williams said. "Obviously it sucks that my season is over, but everything happens for a reason, and like I said, stay in the weight room, stay in the film room, keep a positive attitude and get ready."
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-ra...d-wrist-darrell-williams-working-his-way-back
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- The pain was unlike anything he had ever felt. But for St. Louis Rams offensive tackle Darrell Williams, leaving the team's Nov. 15 game against the Chicago Bears was simply not an option. Not even with a dislocated left wrist.
"Playing O-line, you get hand injuries all the time," Williams said. "Your hands hurt. But when I fell on it, it was a pain that I never felt before. So I got to the sideline and didn’t complain too much; I just asked them to wrap it up some more."
Such is life when you're an undrafted free agent trying to make your way in the league and take advantage of your first meaningful regular-season playing time.
Williams wasn't selected in the 2015 NFL draft despite a solid career at South Florida. Even after the Rams spent four draft picks on offensive linemen, Williams saw an opportunity and elected to sign with them as a rookie free agent. Still, Williams figured to face an uphill battle to make the 53-man roster, odds that only grew longer when the Rams used a supplemental draft pick on Clemson offensive tackle Isaiah Battle over the summer.
So when Williams made the team, he was one of the biggest surprises on the initial roster, joining receiver Bradley Marquez and linebacker Cameron Lynch as the only undrafted rookies to earn spots.
Williams was a pregame inactive in the Rams' first two games and four of the first five games before injuries elsewhere allowed him to be on the game-day roster and get a few snaps, mostly on special teams. In that game against Chicago, right tackle Robert Havenstein suffered a calf injury that got Williams onto the field.
Just 10 snaps into Williams' first extended action, Rams quarterback Nick Foles threw an interception to Bears linebacker Willie Young. As Young raced down the Rams sideline, Williams and fellow rookie offensive lineman Jamon Brown pursued him. Williams lunged to tackle Young and landed awkwardly on his wrist.
The pain was intense, and Williams wasn't sure the extent of it. As he returned to the sideline, he saw Brown being tended to. Brown had suffered a lower-leg fracture and was taken off the field.
Williams quickly assessed the team's offensive-line situation and recognized that his services would be needed.
"Honestly, I didn't want to complain too much because J.B. was down, so I got back in and finished the game," Williams said. "It was tough, but like I said, I didn't want to not finish out and then have it not be anything serious. I just kept with it. It was tough but I just finished."
How tough was it? Well, when Williams attempted to block with his wrist out of place, he said the pain was nearly unbearable and he realized he would be better off not using the hand at all.
"The first play back, I did try to test it out. And once I hit the guy, I realized it wasn't going to be much fun using that hand, so I kept it toward my chest and just played with my right hand the rest of the game," Williams said. "It was like a very sharp pain when I used it; that's the only way I can describe it. It was like nothing I felt before, because I had never had any injury like that before. It was just a sharp pain."
When the game was over, Williams went for X-rays, which revealed the dislocation, as well as some torn ligaments. Hours later, he had surgery to repair the wrist, ending his season just as it was beginning.
It was a tough blow for Williams, who almost certainly would have gotten some opportunities over the final parts of the season as injuries piled up along the line. But Williams acknowledged it was simply a bit of bad luck. Now he is aiming to be out of his cast by February and back to work soon after.
"I'm excited to get started for next season, get in the weight room, get strong, bigger, watch some more film," Williams said. "Obviously it sucks that my season is over, but everything happens for a reason, and like I said, stay in the weight room, stay in the film room, keep a positive attitude and get ready."
