Offseason addition Mike Williams will be available to the New York Jets for their September 9 season opener on the road, but there's catch.
The veteran wide receiver, who is less than one year removed from an ACL tear, will not play on an every down basis against the San Francisco 49ers.
"He could be ready for 60 plays and we're still going to be very smart with how we use him," said head coach Robert Saleh on Thursday in Florham Park.
Williams, who will turn 30 years old on October 4, will be on a snap count during the Monday Night Football opener, but Saleh did not specify what the limit will be.
"It's no different than Breece [Hall]. Breece was ready to roll [last year], but we wanted to make sure that we were forward thinking with regards to the long haul," said Saleh comparing Williams's recovery to the process that the team's starting running back went through in 2023.
Coming off a torn ACL, Hall did not participate in preseason play last summer and was not activated from the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list until the final week of training camp. Although he took only 17 snaps in the 2023 opener, Hall appeared in mid-season form. He piled up 147 yards from scrimmage, including an 83-yard rush that flipped the field in the first quarter. The 2022 second-round draft pick exceeded the 20.5 miles per hour mark according the Next Gen Stats.
Although those expectations may be a little too ambitious for the older Williams, Saleh expects the WR2 to contribute against the 49ers.
"He's going to have plenty of impact in this game, but at the same time, we're going to be smart with him because our eyes are on the entire season, not just Week 1," said Saleh.
Williams was activated off PUP on August 7, working his way back into practice with restrictions. He was initially limited to position drills and finally jumped into team drills on August 27.
Over 88 career games with the Los Angeles Chargers, Williams averaged 15.6 yards per reception and scored 31 touchdowns. The 2017 Top 10 draft pick has two 1,000-yard receiving seasons to his credit.
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