Buffalo Bills: Kyle Williams’ Philosophy Helped Overcome Tough Rehab
By Paul Taylor
Even on Kyle Williams’ darkest days of rehab, his approach to life helped him on the long road to suiting up again for the Buffalo Bills.
It could be easy to take one look at Kyle Williams and wonder how he made it in the NFL. In that respect, it was his lack of height, bulk and athleticism which saw him fall down the draft board in 2006, before eventually being selected in the fifth round by the Buffalo Bills.
However, no one accounted for Williams’ mentality or work ethic, which have since seen him voted to four Pro Bowls and named First-team All Pro in 2010. And it is this approach to life, which has seen him recover from the most difficult period of his professional career.
When the 33-year was carted off the field in Week 6 last season, the initial diagnosis was that he would miss 3-4 weeks with a sprained PCL. However, it soon turned out things were much more serious, resulting in season-ending meniscus surgery.
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This led to what Williams’ admits was the toughest offseason he’s ever endured. However, he wasn’t going to let that get him down for too long, as he told The Buffalo News and the rest of the media.
Williams said: “There’s definitely dark days there where you get frustrated or you get down, but you know, I’ve always lived day-to-day. I’m going to work as hard as I can today and then I’m going to get up tomorrow and I’m going to do it again.
“I think that’s where character, and toughness and hard work all kind of show up and I really want to be that, I don’t just want to talk about it. So that’s kind of where it was, but it went well, you know I worked hard.”
Ask anyone on the Bills and they will tell you the Ruston, Louisiana native is the consummate pro. As such, it comes as no surprise to hear him talk about the frustration of not being able to contribute to the team, when things started to go wrong last season.
Williams said: “You talk about games come down to a couple plays – I feel like I could make a couple plays a game, I could make that type of difference. You know, really just a burden there all season long watching my team grind and struggle and me not being able to be there with them, that was tough.”
Another example of the 2005 First-team All-SEC selection’s team-first mentality, came with his agreeing to a $1.75 million pay-cut to his 2016 salary. The money has since been used to sign Jim Dray and Robert Blanton, who are both expected to provide key depth to the Bills roster.
Of course, from Williams’ point of view, his main priority is being ready for Week 1, when the team travels to Baltimore. In that respect, his passing a physical and returning to practice on Monday, were key steps.
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Understandably, people wondered how rusty the 2003 BCS national champion would be. However, as far as he was concerned, about the only uncomfortable thing was putting on his shoulder pads.
Williams said: “I work out and I train a certain way, and I practice and I play a certain way and I have my whole career. I think it helps me with the speed of the game and with certain ways, the way I attack and the way I get off the ball.
“I really try to work as hard in practice — as hard as I can — because that’s the way I want to play. So, when you go out there, when I come off a long layoff, you know, it really is kind of second nature, almost muscle memory type.”
Overall, while there is always the concern of a setback, Williams should play a key part in helping the defense rebound from last season’s poor showing. Certainly, it would be foolish to bet against it, especially with how he approaches life and playing football.
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How much does the return of Williams (and Marcell Dareus) counteract the recent spate of injuries? While the Bills’ defense should be better than last season, how much of an improvement are you expecting? Let us know in the comments section below.