The Atlanta Falcons are looking to make progress in their rebuild. The upcoming 2023 season will feature a lot of losing but. could set the stage for a solid team to come in the future. Unfortunately, they won't have return specialist Avery Williams to help them for almost all of the season.
Avery Williams injured his ACL and will have surgery, probably ending his season, according to Scott Bair of the team website. The 24-year-old suffered a non-contact injury during practice. “We love Avery. He has the right mindset and we expect him to come back ready to roll,” said Falcons head coach Arthur Smith, per Bair.
Williams has tallied 803 yards on kick returns and 445 yards on punt returns over his two seasons with the Falcons. Last season, he got 22 rushing attempts, compiling 109 yards and a touchdown, and 13 catches, compiling 61 yards. He was 10th in punt return yards last season, averaging 16.2 yards per return. Atlanta losing out on their lead returner and an offensive Swiss army knife is seriously unfortunate.
Smith said named some Falcons players that could fill Williams' role, according to D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “There will be plenty of opportunities. Plenty [of] opportunities for Mike Hughes, (Dee) Alford or Penny Hart. Somebody will step up. (Maybe) Josh Ali,” Smith said.
Although the NFC South is among the weakest divisions in the NFL, the Falcons are expected to be worse than Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints. Atlanta's schedule is quite easy, so it's possible for the team to be in the playoff picture deeper in the season than most expect.
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