'Why does this keep happening to me?': Browns' Greedy Williams eyes another injury comeback

BEREA — Greedy Williams knew this season was going to be a big year for him. It was, after all, the final year of the Browns cornerback's contract.

So there's nothing Williams wanted to do less than to spend the first four games of the season on the injured reserve list.

"Man, just giving a glimpse of what I did last year," Williams said Wednesday. "Definitely was ready to move forward this year and just go out, don’t think about anything, just play football. Like I said, it’s my last year, my fourth year, so you’ve got to lock in more. That’s kinda what I’m excited about."

That excitement level returned for the former 2019 second-round pick on Wednesday when his stay on the injured reserve list came to an end. Williams was designated for activation from the IR in the morning, prior to the Browns' first practice in advance of this week's home game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

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Injuries and Williams have been synonymous in his first three-plus seasons in the NFL. There were the four missed games in his rookie season, then a completely lost 2020 season to a nerve injury in his shoulder.

Williams appeared to be turning a corner a year ago, when he played 16 games. The problem was, he turned another corner right before the start of this season, and ran right back into the injury wall when he sustained a hamstring injury.

"It’s kinda hard when you’re just sitting down and you’re just thinking, ‘Why does this keep happening to me?’ Williams said. "I just carried the gratitude with it and realized it is what it is. The medical staff, they’re great, so they uplift me as well."

Williams sustained the injury right before the season opener at Carolina. How it happened — "Just trying to make a play on the ball and overstretched my right hamstring," he said — was pretty routine.

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However, the routine for Williams has become not-so-routine throughout his career. He said he heard a pop as he leaned over, a sign that something wasn't right.

Williams was placed on the injured reserve on Sept. 9, two days before the opener at Carolina. It was yet another chance for him to ponder whether or not there was some kind of curse on him with the injury bug.

"Do I think the injury jinx?" Williams said. "I wouldn’t call it a jinx. I just say it’s another chapter in the book, man, just to come back and be better and prove again what I can do."

The Browns aren't fully committing to Williams playing Sunday against the Chargers. However, the fact he was able to get on the practice field is the start of his return to the game field.

Both Williams and coach Kevin Stefanski said the plan is to evaluate him after Wednesday's workout.

“This is kind of the first step in getting him out there to practice," Stefanski said. "He is doing great. He has been doing a great job off to the side in his rehab. Get him into practice, get him some plays here and see how he responds.”

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It would be fitting in a way if Williams could get back on the field against this specific opponent. The Chargers, after all, were the team in which he played arguably the best game of his NFL career almost exactly one year earlier.

On Oct. 10 of last season, in a Week 5 game in Los Angeles, Williams had seven solo tackles, three assisted stops, a pass defensed and a forced fumble. The Browns, though, lost the game 47-42 on a fourth-quarter rally by the Chargers.

Those around Williams in the secondary are among the happiest to see him returning.

“It’ll be good," said safety Grant Delpit, who was also a teammate of Williams at LSU. "That’s my dude, man. I’m happy for him coming off and injury. I know that’s tough. Nobody wants to be hurt and everybody wants to be on the field so it’s going to be good for him to be back out there with his brothers, and he had a good game against the Chargers last year so hopefully he can pick up where he left off.”

Williams' return would coincide with the Browns' schedule taking a massive leap forward in degree of difficulty. A big reason why is because of the quarterbacks that await in the next two months, starting with arguably one of the best young quarterbacks in the league.

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The Chargers' Justin Herbert is leading the NFL in total passing yards with 1,250, and he's in the top five in completions (111), passing touchdowns (nine) and quarterback rating (102.2). A year ago, he threw for 398 yards and four touchdowns against the Browns.

"Man, he’s a great quarterback," Williams said. "Tall, can scramble, got arm power. He’s got all those tools and things, but, like I said, it all sounds good but you’ve got to play against a defense like us who’s coming in ready to compete."

That defense, after Herbert, will still have games against Baltimore's Lamar Jackson, Cincinnati's Joe Burrow, Buffalo's Josh Allen and Tampa Bay's Tom Brady. The New England Patriots could have Mac Jones back in time for the Oct. 16 game in Cleveland.

All of that presents Williams with an opportunity to make up for some lost time. A strong performance by him could be the ticket to a decent payday when the year's over.

Williams isn't looking at the last 13 games in necessarily that light. He's simply looking at each one as a chance, a big chance.

"They’re a grind, man," he said. "Every game’s important. The ones I missed was important. It was, so I’m overwhelmed, man, I’m ready to play. I’m happy, feel good. I’m just ready to go."

Contact Chris at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com.

On Twitter: @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Greedy Williams takes aim at yet another comeback from injury