Some good news on Cadillac injury

[Cadillac Williams leaves One Buc Place on crutches on Monday morning. Brian Cassella, Times]

RB Cadillac Williams was encouraged by the early diagnosis of his injured left knee.

Williams suffered a torn patellar tendon Sunday, but this time, the tendon tore away from the bone rather than rupturing. That, Williams said, requires a shorter recovery time and apparently is more easily repaired. The hope is he'll be back on the field in time to participate in training camp next year.

Former Bucs receiver Mark Jones suffered a similar injury last season and returned to become the Panthers' leading kick and punt returner this fall.

"If it's the way it's been explained, it's more like the Mark Jones tear," Williams said. "After six to eight weeks, he was rolling. Right now, I'm just hoping for the best. I'll go ahead and have surgery and look forward to rehab."

It was feared that Williams may have suffered a ruptured patellar tendon like he did last season in his right knee. That injury kept him off the field for nearly 14 months until his return in November.

Still, this injury is still a setback for Williams, who looked like he was nearing his old form.

"It's tough," he said. "I was getting a few carries here and there and starting to feel like my old self. My right knee, which is now my good knee, was feeling good. It's just a freak accident. Right now, I have no luck."

Comments

[HockeyBay.com]

Good Luck Cadillac! Great Season! Hey all you Buc fans! Since season is over, come over to the Forum and Support the BOLTS! GO BOLTS!

[Robert]

GOD BLESS YOU CADILLAC! I don't care for alot of athletes now, but you are different! You have shown and proved you really love the game and not just the money! You are one of a few left out there. Yesterday, as soon as you went down I dropped to my knees and prayed for you buddy! I would rather you be alright and not make the playoffs and right now we just might of got that! Keep your head up and GOD BLESS YOU! You deserve it and have earned your success my friend! I hope you stay a buc for life! This is a little off topic, but I just hung a poster up number 24 on my son's door XMAS day and hope you stick around for a long time! Bucs fans love you man!

[Buc fan]

God bless you, Cadillac! As soon as I saw you go down, I cried for you. I am so sorry for your injury but know God is with you and you will return better than ever! Keep up the good work and I know we'll see you out there next year! Again, God bless!

[BBFan10]

Hang in there Caddy. God must know that you can handle a BIG load because you have had a tough few years. You will emerge a better man and probably a better, stronger player. My heart sank the instant you grabbed your knee. I was off the couch cheering your run then stood silent, knowing it was not good. I wish you the best in your recovery. Hey, at least you know how to do it this time, so it won't be as bad.

[Drakeu85]

Thanks for the effort Cadillac. I wish you God speed in you recovery.

[boltcc]

Good luck! and get well soon!

[eric(bucsfan4life)]

C24
i hope you come back stronger next year. you looked awesome yesterday you are our best back. what does'nt kill you only makes you stronger. i want to see 1,200+ from you next year. God bless and get well soon.

[Garick]

Cadillac is a good kid and that is definetly good news. Sounds like he'll be able to get healthy by training camp as long as everything goes according to plan. Thanks for the effort yesterday and God speed!

[shane]

God must of heard the prayers of the fans that caddy's injury wasn't as serious as the last one.
And this is really good news for Bucs fans it makes me envious to think of the backfield with a HEALTHY Earnest Graham and Cadillac Williams. Hopefully John finds a way to fit both of these guys into the backfield

[Matt H]

Get well soon Caddy, you looked like you were back bigtime yesterday and we're going to need you next year to have any hope against that schedule.

Our opponents in 2009 have a .580 winning percentage and only 3 of 16 games are against teams with losing records in 2008.

[BossManCarr]

WOOO HOOO! Great news for Cadillac, just hope he takes his time recovering. Cant wait for next season

[Sir Pritam the Great of England]

This is slightly off-topic, but IF Cadillac is ready and good to go for next season, we will have a total of 3 (perhaps even 4) PHENOMENAL running backs in our arsenal: Earnest Graham, Warrick Dunn, and Cadillac Williams

Clifton Smith is probably going to come back as well, and he most certainly has some potential

That's a bit exhilarating, in my opinion

[Jeffrey DeFoe]

Cadillac, So sorry to see you go through another major injury and set back but if anyone can return from this it will be you. My family and I will pray for your quick recovery. Go Bucs in 09.

[Amanda]

I'm only a "casual" Bucs fan (definitely root for them, I'll put the game on unless there's hockey on, know the players but no clue where they went to college... that kinda fan). However, watching Cadillac yesterday was heart- and gut-wrenching. The screams were chilling, and the agony on his face brought tears to my eyes. You could tell it was more than just the excruciating pain for him; there was terror in his eyes, as if he thought he might not ever be able to play the game again. You can really tell, watching this kid, that he LOVES what he does. Good luck, Caddy.

[Cindi]

Great new Cadillac! I have been cheering for you since your days with my Tigers and your enthusiasim and heart have always made you one of my favorites. I was crying yesterday when you went down and praying that it wasn't too serious. Hopefully the news will continue to be good. God bless you and War Eagle!

[Daniel]

This is great news for Caddy, who as most have acknowledged here, loves the game. I remember Gruden talking about that after he coached him in the senior bowl.

The Bucs need a big tailback to compliment the smaller slashing backs. He doesn't have to be Brandon Jacobs big, but at least Jonathan Stewart big. 5'11" 235lbs. Graham is our big back now, he's listed at 5'9" 225lbs. That is about the same size as Carolina's "speed" guy, DeAngelo Williams. Don't get me wrong, Graham is a very good back and we missed him dearly after he was hurt, but I would like to see the Bucs get bigger at several key positions without giving up too much quickness.
The reason? The Bucs wore down late in games during the strech run. They were outscored 62-19 in the fourth quarter and overtime of losses to Carolina, Atlanta, San Diego and Oakland.

The Bucs need to be wearing down teams instead of the other way around.

[Larry]

It's a sad day when we celebrate the fact that a player with a torn tendon 'only' tore it clean from the bone vs. having it rupture - and is a damning indictment on just how few true impact players this team has on either side of the ball.

I'm glad to hear the Cadillac has at least a chance of playing again, don't get me wrong. It's just that we're so weak as a team that he have to hope that our best RB has to recover from his second career threatening injury in two years to be even remotely competitive. Makes you wonder which one of the three stooges is in charge of talent evaluation, doesn't it?

[shane]

Larry before you rag on our talent evaluators just remember it was them who brought us clifton smith, antonio bryant and earnest graham but if you want to make a case for the stooges i do believe it is moe that is in charge, makes decisions but sometimes misses on the right ones.

[Brandon]

So he'll be okay? I guess that means I can go back to bashing the China Doll. He had been playing better than he had in a long time though... running harder anyways.

[Larry]

Let's see Shane.

Clifton Smith was a free agent signee who spent the first eight weeks of the year on the practice squad while the guy they picked in the second round fails to handle kicks.

Antonio Bryant was (from a post against another article tonight) from the "bad attitude and/or current/former felon" bucket. Got to give you this one, the Bucs do seem to be able to evaluate this type of talent.

Finally, Earnest Graham. Late round draft pick who spent years bouncing back and forth between the practice squad and special teams. Gets his shot because everybody else is hurt and comes through -- is that talent evaluation or just dumb luck?

Meanwhile, we need an impact DT and we find....Ryan Sims? C'mon. We need somebody to back up an aging Derrick Brooks and the best we can find is Matt McCoy? He's so valuable he got cut after being arrested (not convicted) of DUI. Last year we couldn't find any help on the D-line until Jay Gruden tells his brother about this guy who's working security at Best Buy.

Even a blind squirrel can find a nut now and then, but that hardly qualifies the Bucs talent evaluators to win the Mighty Karnak award!

[Imahomer]

Larry I agree with you!!! Not only does this team have a problem with recognizing true talent, they also can't develop it when they do find that one nut. When Derrick Brooks was drafted people projected him to be an above average OLB. Kiffin and Dungy developed him (as well as diamonds in the rough like Lynch and Barber) into HOFers! Where is that development now?!! The only player that we've been able to develop since Dungy left is Barret Ruud and I give that credit all to Kiffin who recognized the talent, begged Gruden to draft him in the second round and proved himself right by turning him into a beast up the middle. I love this team good or bad, but the future does not look bright with our only true teacher of the game departing.