Javonte Williams’ return was a milestone that offered a glimpse of something more

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — For a running back, returning from a lengthy absence starts with absorbing the first shot.

And then it’s about getting back up.

Three-hundred-and-twenty-one days after tearing multiple ligaments in Las Vegas, Javonte Williams returned to game-time action Saturday. He touched the ball on each of the Broncos’ first four snaps. And then, on the next series, he had four more touches — including three in four snaps to open the possession.

He rose every time he fell.

The horse the Broncos wanted to ride last season was back.

“It was just like a weight lifted off of me. I was thinking that it was going to hurt or something,” Williams said.

“But I really didn’t even feel it. I just jumped right back up.”

The stat line — 12 yards on 3 carries, 18 yards and 4 receptions on 5 passes thrown in his direction — mattered less than how Williams felt in the wake of the workload during the nascent stages of what would be a 21-20 preseason loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

And every indication exists that Williams passed the physical challenge.

It’s a 21-20 loss for the Broncos tonight, but there was an awful lot to like from the game. I touch on some of it in my @DenverSportsCom recap from Levi’s Stadium: pic.twitter.com/B3jQBT8zX4

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) August 20, 2023

“I just wanted to get tackled again to see how it felt,” he said. “And that’s the biggest hurdle I felt like I had left with the whole recovery process.

“Just getting it out of the way was good.”

Now, Williams’ long-awaited return wasn’t perfect. The first time the ball hit his hands, he dropped it, losing his grip on a screen pass to open the Broncos’ first series.

“He must not like screens that are wide open,” Broncos coach Sean Payton quipped after the game. “I gave him a hard time on the first play. But it was good to get him back.”

But one snap later, Russell Wilson flung the football in Williams’ direction again. He gained 12 yards on the left flank to move the chains.

It followed a time-tested maxim: When a trusted pass-catcher drops it, get the ball back in their hands as soon as possible. Get the player back on the horse. Whatever such cliché one wants to utilize can apply.

And with that, Williams was off and running. His first carry followed one snap later; it went for no gain. But Wilson found him again on a checkdown immediately thereafter.

“(Payton) was just calling the plays. But it seemed like a lot of them was coming to me,” Williams said.

There was some intent to the workload. But not always. Sometimes, Williams was just the optimal target based on the 49ers’ coverage.

“I don’t think it was scripted,” Payton said. “I think it just fell that way.

“In other words, a screen pass is one thing, but with him getting a throw on a third down where he’s not the [intended reciever], but the coverage maybe dictated it. I think that’s kind of what happened.”

Payton spoke of Williams getting a handful of opportunities this week — but in the 3-to-4-range, specifically. Williams doubled that.

And with that, Williams sailed over what might have been the biggest hurdle in his arduous recovery: absorbing the blows of full-speed, full-contact football. The next test will come in the two days after the game; if Williams has no lingering discomfort after his work, he’ll be one step closer to being all the way back.

Williams said he was “100 percent” after the game. He certainly looked it. And weeks or even months before anyone thought it possible, he looked ready to go.

BEYOND JAVONTE

It remained an eventful night for the balance of the Broncos’ running backs.

Samaje Perine, who largely split first-team practice work with Williams, averaged a robust 8.3 yards per carry on three attempts. Jaleel McLaughlin and Tony Jones Jr. each rushed for 45 yards, with Jones posting the Broncos’ longest play from scrimmage, a 43-yard gallop. Two McLaughlin gains bracketed Jones’ run: a 44-yard kickoff return and a 9-yard touchdown catch.

McLaughlin finished with 97 all-purpose yards. Which came as no surprise to Payton.

“Everyone has seen it if you pay attention to practice,” Payton said. “No one was surprised.”

Jones led the Broncos in yards from scrimmage, with 58.

Williams, Perine, Jones and McLaughlin combined for 124 yards on 16 carries and 39 yards on eight receptions. McLaughlin had both touchdowns and has 75 percent of the Broncos trips to the end zone so far in the preseason.

The Broncos appear to have a nice problem: Ample depth at running back that could create a roster punch.

But they have their bell cow back atop the depth chart. And that ultimately mattered more than the scoreboard result.

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