Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Mike Williams saw his 2023 campaign cut short due to a torn ACL he suffered in Week 3, but the star pass-catcher provided some positive news on his recovery this week.
“It’s just timelines and stuff we were trying to meet and I’m hitting those timelines ahead of schedule,” Williams said, via Omar Navarro of the Chargers’ official team website. “So, everything is looking good.”
Williams logged 19 catches for 249 yards and a touchdown before ultimately bowing out for the season.
The 29-year-old added that it was incredibly difficult to have to sit on the sidelines and watch his teammates instead of being out on the field with them.
“Just watching every game and wanting to be out there to help the guys get a W,” Williams said. ”That was the main thing, just me being the player that I am, I want to be out there to help the guys win and I wasn’t able to do that. So yeah, my main focus is just to get back 100 percent.”
Los Angeles certainly missed Williams’ presence, as it finished just 13th in passing offense this season after ranking third in that category a year ago.
Williams, who played his collegiate football at Clemson, was selected by the Chargers with the seventh overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft.
After an eventful rookie campaign, Williams began to show signs of breaking out in 2018, catching 43 passes for 664 yards and 10 scores. Then, the following year, Williams flashed tremendous big-play ability, registering 49 catches for 1,001 yards and a couple of touchdowns. He averaged a tremendous 20.4 yards per catch, which ranked No. 1 in the league.
Williams’ most productive season, however, came in 2021, when he hauled in 76 receptions for 1,146 yards while reaching the end zone nine times.
He expects to get back to that level of production again.
“I know what I’m capable of doing,” Williams said. “I know I’m going to come back stronger, faster, and better after this injury, so I just got to focus on what I can focus on and that’s me getting back better.
The Chargers went just 5-12 this year.
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