Cardinals' Maxx Williams makes it all the way back from torn ACL on emotional Sunday
Maxx Williams had a day to remember Sunday at State Farm Stadium. Even though he played only 11 snaps. Even though the Arizona Cardinals were blown out 44-21 by the Kansas City Chiefs.
Williams got to run out of the inflatable bird head tunnel as an announced starter at tight end for Cardinals, then took the field for his first NFL regular season game in almost a year. The 11 months in between were spent healing from and rehabilitating a torn ACL suffered in the Cardinals' fifth game of last season, followed by training camp and practices leading up to Week 1.
"It was great," Williams said Wednesday about his return to action. "I won't lie to you guys, I woke up that morning and I was crying like a baby. I had no idea why. I was just so emotional about being back and back playing, not knowing if I was ever going to play again. It was just fun."
Williams, a Cardinal since 2019 and in his ninth NFL season, admitted he wasn't sure he would ever play football again after the injury.
"It was a great day, win, lose or draw, either way it was going to be emotional," Williams said. "I didn't feel the expectations of myself. I was pretty open about that, whenever I felt like I had an opportunity to be back and playing I was going to give it my all. ... So really for me it was just taking everything day by day. Feeling confident, building my confidence and taking game one now and trying to build confidence throughout the whole year."
Williams is six receiving yards short of 1,000 for his career.
New injuries crop up
Two more Cardinals players showed up on the first official injury report of the week Wednesday after they didn't take part in practice — starting safety Jalen Thompson and wide receiver Andy Isabella.
Thompson has a toe injury and Isabella a back issue. In addition, tight end Zach Ertz (calf) did not practice but is expected to be a full participant on Thursday, defensive lineman J.J. Watt (calf) didn't practice, and wide receiver Rondale Moore (hamstring) was also a non-participant.
But three players appear to be headed in a positive direction with their health. Left guard Justin Pugh, who didn't play last week due to a neck injury, was a limited practice participant, as was cornerback Trayvon Mullen Jr., the former Raiders player facing his former team this Sunday in Las Vegas.
Pugh is day to day, coach Kliff Kingsbury said, adding he was not sure if the veteran will be able to play this week.
Cornerback Marco Wilson hurt an ankle in Sunday's game but was a full participant in Wednesday's practice.
Right tackle Kelvin Beachum and center Rodney Hudson, another ex-Raider, were given the day to rest.
Familiar face
Kingsbury and Raiders coach Josh McDaniels go as far back as 2003, when Kingsbury was a rookie on injured reserve for the New England Patriots and McDaniels was a defensive quality control assistant coach. McDaniels is three years older.
Kingsbury used his time in New England to take in as much information as he could, starting his path toward becoming a college and NFL head coach. McDaniels was a workhorse, paying his dues as he worked to move up in the coaching ranks.
Kingsbury called McDaniels one of the smartest offensive minds he has ever been around. In 2004, McDaniels was the Patriots' quarterbacks coach working with Kingsbury before he was waived.
"I would want to go out with the team and stuff, and I tried to pay him to do my work and say, 'Dude, I have so much work, there's no chance I had that,' Kingsbury said. "So I've watched him grind. ... I have such a tremendous amount of respect for where he came from, from the defensive side to being this offensive genius to all the successes he had with the Patriots and now getting another shot (as head coach)."
Practice squad moves
The Cardinals added wide receivers Jeff Cotton Jr. and JaVonta Payton to the practice squad Wednesday, along with offensive lineman Koda Martin. Payton and Martin were with the team in training camp and the preseason.
Cotton is a Tucson native who played in college at Idaho, and also spent time with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Los Angeles Chargers.
To make room on the practice squad, the team placed wide receiver Victor Bolden Jr. and offensive lineman Rashaad Coward on the practice squad injured reserve list.
Get in touch with Jose Romero at Jose.Romero@gannett.com. Find him on Twitter at @RomeroJoseM.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Cardinals' Maxx Williams returns from torn ACL on emotional Sunday
