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Ryan Williams | Running Back

Team: Arizona Cardinals
Age / DOB:  (23) / 4/9/1990
Ht / Wt:  5'9' / 207
College: Virginia Tech
Contract: view contract details
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Recent News

Cardinals RB Ryan Williams said he was "scared all last year to get the ball in my hands."
Williams was coming off a torn patella tendon. "I was trying to protect my leg instead of trying to protect the football," he admitted. "It's a scary sight being a running back and being scared to run the ball. That's something that no running back should feel." Williams averaged a pathetic 2.82 YPC before a season-ending shoulder injury in Week 5. He says the fear is now gone, but he'll have to prove in pads to earn carries. Rashard Mendenhall, Stepfan Taylor and Andre Ellington are all in the mix. May 23 - 10:44 AM
Source: Arizona Republic

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Date:
Ryan Williams - RB - Cardinals

Coach Bruce Arians reiterated that the running back spot is open to competition.

Rashard Mendenhall may be the slight favorite as he had his best years under Arians in Pittsburgh and will be roughly 20 months removed from his ACL tear when Week 1 rolls around. But Ryan Williams, Stepfan Taylor and Andre Ellington will all be in the mix as well. "You really can't tell until the lights come on," Arians said. "Some were different from this morning's walkthrough to the afternoon practice. Until you turn the lights on, you really don't know about them."
Related: Rashard Mendenhall, Andre Ellington, Stepfan Taylor
Source: azcardinals.com
May 14 - 8:40 AM
Ryan Williams - RB - Cardinals

New coach Bruce Arians said he prefers not to use a running back by committee approach.

"Backs by committee, one of them gets hurt you've lost half your committee or a third of your committee," Arians said. "I like guys who can play every down." Ryan Williams is the logical in-house candidate, but he'll have to prove his ever-questionable health. The Cardinals are also a good bet to add talent via free agency or the draft. They've been linked to Rashard Mendenhall and Reggie Bush, among others.
Related: Beanie Wells
Source: azcardinals.com
Mar 6 - 8:55 AM
Ryan Williams - RB - Cardinals

Cardinals GM Steve Keim says the club is "expecting big things" from third-year RB Ryan Williams.

Williams has been injured since his redshirt freshman season at Virginia Tech, but the Cards aren't giving up. "We watched him against Philadelphia ... (and) New England," Keim said of Williams' 2012 tape. "His lateral quickness, his natural run skills, his avoidability is something he brings to the table. Plus he’s a three-down back. We’re expecting big things out of Ryan moving forward."
Source: azcardinals.com
Feb 21 - 4:57 PM
Ryan Williams - RB - Cardinals

Ryan Williams (shoulder) admits he's worried about his roster spot.

"Who wouldn’t I (be)?," Williams said. Injuries have limited Williams to just five games in two years since being the No. 38 pick of the 2011 draft. However, Williams says he's the "happiest I’ve been in two years," and that he's "gotten right" both physically and mentally. New coach Bruce Arians is an avowed Williams fan. "I know Ryan can flat run the football," Arians said. "I know all about Ryan, and I love him." Williams is expected to be 100 percent for the Cardinals' offseason program. We don't think his roster spot is at all in danger.
Source: azcardinals.com
Feb 12 - 6:50 PM
Ryan Williams - RB - Cardinals

New Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said Friday that he "loves" Ryan Williams and "lit up" when discussing the 2011 second-round pick.

Arians and Williams both went to Virginia Tech, and it sounds like Arians is smitten with Williams' ability. The 38th overall pick in the 2011 draft, Williams' first two seasons in the league were derailed by major knee and shoulder injuries. He's still only 23 (in April) years old, however, and Arians had success with far less talented Vick Ballard with the Colts in 2012.
Source: Kent Somers on Twitter
Jan 18 - 5:13 PM
Ryan Williams - RB - Cardinals

Cardinals RB Ryan Williams (IR, shoulder) said Wednesday he now feels the best he has in the last two years.

Williams said his shoulder rehab has gone well and the knee that he blew out in 2011 is in great shape. He will go under the knife for a minor follow-up procedure on his shoulder this week, but he expects to be a full-go for spring workouts. With Beanie Wells having one foot out the door and LaRod Stephens-Howling an unrestricted free agent, Williams is trending up heading into 2013.
Source: azcardinals.com
Wed, Dec 26, 2012 12:04:00 PM
Ryan Williams - RB - Cardinals

Ryan Williams admitted that his knee was still a major concern before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in Week 5.

Williams clearly wasn't fully recovered from his 2011 patella tear as he averaged just 2.8 yards per carry on 58 totes before going down Sunday. "I'm still actually going through the knee thing," he said. "That could be a good thing for my knee and my whole body, just so it could recover like it should be. So then next year I won't be waking up feeling like I'm 60 years old every day." The recovery timetable from Williams' shoulder surgery is only three months.
Source: AzCardinals.com
Tue, Oct 9, 2012 08:33:00 AM
Ryan Williams - RB - Cardinals

Ryan Williams will require surgery to repair the AC joint in his left shoulder and is done for the remainder of the season.

It's a rough blow for increasingly one of the league's most tough-luck players. Williams suffered the injury in last Thursday night's loss to the Rams. William Powell figures to be the favorite for carries in Arizona's backfield until Beanie Wells (turf toe) gets back in Week 12 or 13, although Powell is coming off a "head" injury. La'Rod Stephens-Howling and Alfonso Smith will also be in the mix for carries behind an offensive line that opens no holes. Williams will enter the 2013 season having not been a legitimately productive rusher since 2009, his redshirt freshman season at Virginia Tech. After also missing all of 2011 with a ruptured patellar tendon, Williams' long-term outlook is all sorts of cloudy.
Mon, Oct 8, 2012 02:43:00 PM
Ryan Williams - RB - Cardinals

Cardinals RB Ryan Williams played 43-of-82 (52.4 percent) snaps versus the Rams in Week 5.

Even with the shoulder injury that knocked him out of the game, it's an increase from last week. Williams even saw time in the no-huddle package. Backup William Powell played just 12 snaps Thursday night. Williams now has just one impressive quarter in 20 this season, but he's locked in as the feature back as long as his shoulder checks out on Friday.
Related: William Powell
Source: Mike Jurecki on Twitter
Fri, Oct 5, 2012 09:27:00 AM
Ryan Williams - RB - Cardinals

Cardinals RB Ryan Williams downplayed the left shoulder injury that knocked him out of Thursday's game.

"I didn't black out or anything," Williams said. "No concussion or anything. My whole shoulder went down and went numb. So then I got up, figured it was something with my AC joint. I was like, 'At least it's not my leg,' so shot it up went back out there but coach wouldn't put me back in the game." Williams said he was fine after the game and promised coach Ken Whisenhunt that he would "fight, scratch and claw" to play every game this season. Consider his status day-to-day heading into Week 6.
Source: AzCardinals.com
Fri, Oct 5, 2012 08:32:00 AM
Ryan Williams - RB - Cardinals

Ryan Williams rushed for just 33 yards on 14 carries before exiting Thursday night's Week 5 loss with a shoulder injury.

Williams was injured in the second half and didn't return after taking a big hit from Rams safety Darian Stewart. It was another lackluster effort on the ground for the second-year back. Backup William Powell handled the third-down action while Williams handled early down work. After failing to take advantage of a not-so-good Rams run defense, Williams' fantasy light is dimming. If healthy, Williams will face the Bills' No. 28 run defense in Week 6.
Fri, Oct 5, 2012 12:28:00 AM
Ryan Williams - RB - Cardinals

Ryan Williams left Thursday night's game against the Rams with a left shoulder injury.

Williams broke off a nice 12-yard run on a draw play but took a big time helmet-to-helmet hit from Rams safety Darian Stewart. He was lying on the field for a minute or two before walking off under his own power. William Powell is next in line. Check back for updates.
Thu, Oct 4, 2012 11:09:00 PM
Ryan Williams - RB - Cardinals

Coach Ken Whisenhunt confirmed that Ryan Williams isn't part of the no-huddle scheme because he's not far enough along in his development to handle it.

The Cardinals had no shot of running the ball successfully against the Dolphins last week, so they quickly scrapped it and went no-huddle. William Powell was the one that practiced in that scheme all last week. The Cards figure to actually stick with the run game Thursday night as the Rams rank 26th in rushing yards allowed and are giving up 4.7 yards per carry. Williams is on the RB2 radar as the primary back in base formations.
Related: William Powell
Source: Arizona Republic
Wed, Oct 3, 2012 08:41:00 AM
Ryan Williams - RB - Cardinals

Cardinals RB Ryan Williams played fewer snaps than backup William Powell in Week 4.

Kevin Kolb's improvement has coincided with an increase in no-huddle looks, but Williams isn't ready to be a part of that personnel package at this point. Williams is on the field for the majority of running downs however. If he's going to have a breakout game, the Week 5 matchup is right versus a Rams run defense that surrendered 179 yards to Seattle last week. Note that Williams is averaging less than 3.0 yards per carry so far.
Related: William Powell
Source: Sporting News
Tue, Oct 2, 2012 04:25:00 PM

Depth Charts

Skill Players
PosRoleName
QB1Carson Palmer
2Drew Stanton
3Ryan Lindley
RB1Rashard Mendenhall
2Ryan Williams
3Stepfan Taylor
4Andre Ellington
5William Powell
GLB1Rashard Mendenhall
2Ryan Williams
3RB1Ryan Williams
2Stepfan Taylor
WR11Larry Fitzgerald
2Andre Roberts
3LaRon Byrd
4Jarett Dillard
5Dan Buckner
WR21Michael Floyd
2Ryan Swope
3Kerry Taylor
4Robert Gill
5Tyler Shaw
WR31Andre Roberts
TE1Rob Housler
2Jeff King
3Jim Dray
4D.C. Jefferson
5Kory Sperry
K1Jay Feely