When Daryl Williams walked over to the assembled scrum of media members, he had a big smile on his face as he greeted the twenty-odd folks gathered around a stand filled with microphones.
So busy doling out friendly greetings that he walked right past the microphones and into the middle of the circle before looking back and grinning, taking his place at the ersatz podium that stood only a few hundred yards where he had lay screaming on the field after dislocating his patella during the opening weekend of training camp in 2018.
“It’s been not quite a year – tomorrow will be a year to the day from when I got hurt,” said Williams after practice. “And I’m playing a different position, so it’s all just got to click again for me – but it’s coming along and I’m feeling good.”
He has many reasons to feel good.
The 26-year old, who signed a one-year deal worth $6m this past offseason, has been taking most of the snaps with the first team at left tackle, a position he hasn’t necessarily played much – he started only one game on the left side in college and 34 on the right. While many expected him to slot into the left guard spot, Ron Rivera and the rest of the coaching staff like the continuity that Greg Van Roten brings to the left guard position and they’re hoping that Williams can take up the mantel at left tackle – at least for now.
Van Roten was the only Panther on the offensive side of the ball to play 100% of the offensive snaps last season on an offensive line that helped the team finished fourth in the league in terms of rushing.
“If there’s one thing you want, you want some continuity,” said Rivera. “The right side has been shored up pretty well and that’s really what you’re looking for, is that kind of cohesion between the two [sides].”
So while many thought second-round pick Greg Little was a shoo-in for the spot protecting Cam Newton’s blind spot after the Panthers traded up for him in the second round, it’s been Williams who has seen the majority of the reps – although he’s glad to mentor the rookie from Ole Miss, even seeking Little out on occasion to impart wisdom and nuggets he’s learned in his four seasons in the league.
The scene when Daryl Williams was carted off during 2018 training camp.
Saturday will be the first padded practice of Panthers training camp, and it would make sense if Williams, who first suffered the injury to his right knee during the first padded practice of last season, was feeling a bit nervous about what was coming tomorrow.
But he’s not, although he does find himself talking to himself, trying to chase away the demons every time he makes contact with a defensive player this far this summer – you can bet he’ll have a lot to say during every collision over the weekend.
“It’s just bad memories – but it was just one bad memory,” said Williams after practice, who was voted second-team All Pro at right tackle in 2017, the only season he’s started all 16 games. “I kind of put that in the back of the head and thank God everyday that I’m back out here.”
Williams says the knee feels great – he reiterated it two or three times, perhaps trying to prove it to himself as well as reporters – but the move over to left tackle, not to mention twelve months away from the field, is revealing the rust. It’s clear to see, however, that the coaching staff trusts Williams enough to give him the chance to earn his spot.
“You can tell he’s a little bit rusty,” said Rivera. “There are a couple of things that he’ll miss just because it’s almost been a year since he’s played – but it was exciting to watch him and you can see the confidence the last two practices.”
But it’s the opportunity – not just to start, but to even play football again – that has Williams thankful.
“I’m an offensive lineman – wherever Coach Matsko or the coaches put me, I’m going to do my best at it,” laughed Williams. “It just means that they trust me and I get an opportunity to prove myself and be one of the left tackles in the league.”
