Riders’ defensive lineman Tim Williams suffers torn Achilles, out for season

Photo courtesy: Saskatchewan Roughriders

Saskatchewan Roughriders’ head coach Craig Dickenson told the media on Monday that defensive lineman Tim Williams has suffered a torn Achilles, ending his season.

The injury took place on Friday in a practice during which Dickenson claimed Williams was fully warmed up and going “sixty percent” of his full speed.

“It was basically a glorified walk-through, we were doing assignment checks and he was working on his pass rush moves against an offensive tackle. Everybody was staying up and he went around the corner, planted his foot and there it went,” said Dickenson in a videoconference.

“That was the only guy that fell the whole day and I chewed out the offensive tackle for what I thought was putting him on the ground, and then after talking to him, Tim just fell on his own because it was his Achilles. It was really a shame. It was about an hour into practice.”

The 27-year-old came to the CFL looking to get his professional career back on track after the “public embarrassment” that followed a gun charge that he incurred in September 2016 while at the University of Alabama.

Williams was a third-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens in 2017, though he was originally projected to be selected much higher. He dressed for 20 career NFL games and recorded 18 total tackles, two sacks, and one forced fumble.

The native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana is the fifth member of the Roughriders to suffer a torn Achilles this season.

“It’s been a tough year for us on that,” said Dickenson. “I’ve never seen that many Achilles injuries ever and so to lose another one is really, really tough. Hopefully, knock on wood, that’s the last one but you never know. It’s a violent game and guys are playing hard and being explosive and sometimes those things happen but we certainly hope we’ve seen the last of those.”

Dickenson also said that Canadians Mike Edem and Justin McInnis have suffered soft tissue injuries, though neither are long-term injuries. Canadian defensive back Jacob Janke suffered a torn ACL, which is expected to end his season.