Pittsburgh Steelers running back DeAngelo Williams missed a second consecutive game Sunday after undergoing a minor surgical procedure on his knee a few weeks ago and an early report indicates he’ll also miss the team’s Thursday night game against the Indianapolis Colts as well.
According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, Williams, who had a meniscus trim a few weeks to fix a knee issue that had been bothering him for several weeks, could return to action for the Steelers Week 13 home game against the New York Giants.
Just over a week ago, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin indicated that Williams had had his injured knee scoped.
“It’s definitely not something that’s going to have him out for an extended, extended period of time. It’s more of a week by week analysis at this point,” Tomlin said during an interview with Bob Labriola of steelers.com.
With the Steelers now on a short week as they prepare to play the Indianapolis Colts on the road Thanksgiving night, it will be very surprising if Williams plays in that game. While nothing is guaranteed at this point, he might indeed be able to return to action the following week.
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger underwent a similar procedure on one of his knees several weeks ago and his recovery time was a little less than three weeks and he only missed one game thanks to the bye week.
With Williams currently sidelined, the Steelers have been leaning heavily on starting running back Le’Veon Bell, who had a career-high 36 touches in Sunday’s win against the Cleveland Browns. Bell is currently being backed by running back Fitzgerald Toussaint and the team also signed running back Daryl Richardson off their practice squad on Saturday.
As of right now, there’s no reason to rush Williams back and we’ll see if he can return in time for the Week 13 game against the Giants.
