The Denver Broncos got their first win of the year thanks to a 31-28 win over the Chicago Bears in Week 4, but starting running back Javonte Williams suffered a quad injury that has his Week 5 status in doubt.
Per ESPN 's Adam Schefter, Williams is about a true game-time decision as one can get. The Broncos are going to work him out before the game and will then make a decision as to whether or not the talented back will play against the New York Jets.
Williams was listed as a full practice participant on Friday, but it's obvious he's not fully recovered from last week's injury. The Broncos could certainly use Williams' services, as the Jets are giving up the fifth-most rushing yards per game (148.0). Granted, that's because they've had the ball run on them more than any other team in the league, but still, teams are showing they can grind away and make it work.
If Williams can't go, then it's likely Samaje Perine will take over as the starter, but Jaleel McLaughlin should see a decent chunk of playing time, as well. Perine finished the Week 4 matchup with 22 snaps compared to McLaughlin's 16. The latter actually lead the team in both carries (7) and yards (72) against the Bears, so it'll be interesting to see how the workload is divided up if both players are on a similar snap count.
Either way, there's no debating the Broncos offense is better with Williams on the field. He leads the team with 138 rushing yards and his 11 receptions are tied with Perine for tops among Broncos running backs. It's been pretty impressive considering he hasn't missed any regular season action coming off a bad knee injury.
We'll see what happens a little later today, as kickoff is scheduled for 4:25pm ET.
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