The Arizona Cardinals announced earlier this week that tight end Maxx Williams was activated from PUP (physically unable to perform list). He had been out all offseason recovering from the torn ACL he suffered in Week 5 of last season.
It was sooner than most expected.
Earlier in the offseason, head coach Kliff Kingsbury was non-commital about Williams’ potential return, suggesting that they might have to wait until the end of training camp to evaluate things.
“He was just ready. He was just ahead of schedule,” Kingsbury told reporters Friday after practice. “(He was) basically knocking down everybody’s door, ‘What are you doing, this is it, let’s go.'”
Williams was fired up to finally get some football work in.
It got to the point where the “only way to find out is to get him out there.”
Williams is moving around well but is not yet to the point where he is participating in 11-on-11 drills.
Williams, though, “has been fired up” about getting back.
As Kingsbury likes to say, Williams’ presence adds a lot of “juice” to the team. He is high-energy and is a very good player.
“As far as an in-line blocker and the things he does with that, he’s one of the best in the league,” Kingsbury said.
The hope is “he can continue to feel good about his progress and we can get him out there.”
If that is the case, with more than a month until the team’s season opener, there is a good chance he should be able to play in Week 1 against the Kansas City Chiefs.
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