Denver Broncos fans were fearing the worst when they saw star running back Javonte Williams carted off the field in the third quarter of Sunday's loss against the Las Vegas Raiders. It turns out the knee injury is even worse than it looked. ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Williams tore his ACL. Unfortunately for the Broncos' budding young star, that's not all he's dealing with.
An ACL injury is already devastating enough, with a long road to recovery accompanying it. However, Javonte Wiliams also suffered a torn LCL and posterior lateral corner, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Just brutal for both the young star and the Broncos.
Williams looked like he was on his way to a great season, as the 22-year-old had exceeded 75 scrimmage yards in two of his first three contests, though he had yet to find the end zone in the 2022 season.
Still, the North Carolina product seemed to be taking the reins in the Broncos' backfield, as he had handled 15-plus touches in each of the first three weeks of the season, with Melvin Gordon playing more of a 1B role.
Javonte Williams burst onto the scene as a rookie last year, tallying 1219 scrimmage yards and seven total touchdowns. Unfortunately, he and the Broncos will have to wait for an extended period of time for the official sequel to his strong first season.
In the meantime, Denver will have to turn to the likes of Gordon, a two-time Pro Bowler who has made 88 starts in his career, to be the lead back.