The list of injuries has been long for Buffalo's defense. Missing three of their top eight tacklers entering last Sunday's game proved costly against Tennessee. The Bills are hopeful to have a few of them back, but to this point the status of players like Keith Ellison, Terrence McGee and Kyle Williams is still up in the air.
Williams appears to have suffered the most serious injury of the three. A grade 2-plus MCL tear suffered three weeks ago at Carolina is still not all the way back, but the Bills defensive tackle feels he's close.
"Yeah I tore it off the tibia so if I pick it up and shake it, it kind of wobbles a little bit, but when they did the stress test on it after the game in Carolina the knee shoved way in and now it's down pretty tight," he said. "It's just a question of getting it all the way there where I can move around."
The defensive tackle participated in conditioning work with his teammates on Monday and felt good in terms of running in a straight line. Cutting off his right leg however, is a different story.
"We ran on the field and moved around a little bit," Williams said. "Some of the change of direction stuff is still a little shaky, a little unstable."
Most MCL tears heal on their own and do not require surgery. Williams narrowly avoided a grade-3 tear where surgery is necessary. As grateful as Williams is to have dodged that bullet, he's still finding it hard to wait on his knee.
"It's a time issue and I have to be patient, which I'm not really good at," he said. "It's really hard, but there's nothing I can do. I can go out and play and not help anybody. I've just got to try to hang in there and let it get better."
Williams is doing all he can to return after a two-game absence as he's putting a lot of time in to get his knee right again, spending up to 11 hours a day at One Bills Drive doing rehab and treatment.
"I had a platelet injection where they took blood from me and injected it into the tear and it was three weeks ago this past Sunday that I tore it," said Williams. "If I was able to play this week I'd be ahead of schedule according to what they say it takes to recover from a tear like this. If at all possible I'd like to play, but it's not my decision."
Williams' status for Sunday's game will be released on Friday.
