Broncos GM George Paton backtracks on health status of Javonte Williams

This is a change from a month ago.

When Broncos GM George Paton met with reporters at the NFL Combine, he delivered surprisingly good news on the health of running back Javonte Williams. The rising star shredded three ligaments in his knee against the Raiders back in October, so there was real concern about his 2023 status.

In February, Paton said “they anticipate he would be ready for the start of the season” when talking about Williams’ health. On Monday, at the NFL’s annual meetings in Arizona, Paton had a different tune.

Broncos GM George Paton on whether RB Javonte Williams will be ready for the start of the season: “We won’t know that for a while.”

Adds he is making “great strides” in recovery from his knee injury.

— Nick Kosmider (@NickKosmider) March 27, 2023

That’s not surprising, although it’s disappointing considering what Paton relayed the first time he was asked about Williams.

The Broncos signed former Bengals running back Samaje Perine this offseason, and Paton had high praise for him, while also commenting on the status of free agent Latavius Murray.

As #Broncos wait for RB Javonte Williams return, GM George Paton said: "Samaje (Perine), he can be a starter. He’s good on first, second down. He’s good on third down. He has really good hands. He’s solid in protection. And we like Latavius (Murray). We’ll see where that goes.”

— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) March 27, 2023

It would make sense to bring Murray back, given he ran well a season ago and his previous relationship with head coach Sean Payton in New Orleans. As of now, the Broncos only have five picks in next month’s NFL Draft, so we’ll see if they use one of those on a running back. They could wait to make a decision on Murray until after the draft, provided he doesn’t garner a ton of interest from other teams.

But the reality is the Broncos will be at their best when Williams returns to full strength. He showed some real promise his rookie year, then had moments in 2022 before his season was cut way short.

It sounds like he’s still got a lot of rehab ahead of him, something Paton is admitting now after perhaps being too optimistic at the combine.

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