Damien Williams signed with the Raiders in August, joining the team as Josh Jacobs stayed away from training camp. But Williams’ first workout this summer came in Arizona. Released by the Raiders in August, Williams will circle back to the Cardinals.
The Cards are adding Williams on a practice squad deal, per a team announcement. The former Chiefs Super Bowl starter worked out for the Cardinals in late July. This signing comes as backup Keaontay Ingram is battling a neck injury.
Although Williams is 31, he has only totaled 490 career touches. Most of those came with Kansas City. The ex-Miami backup is best known for seeing Kareem Hunt‘s midseason dismissal lead to a significant shakeup in the Chiefs’ 2018 backfield. Williams was soon the starter in Kansas City’s first Patrick Mahomes-directed offense. The veteran running back proved a capable fill-in during the regular season and shined in both the 2018 and ’19 playoffs. In five games between those two winters, Williams totaled 10 touchdowns. Two of those came in Super Bowl LIV, a game in which Williams posted 133 yards from scrimmage.
In the years since, Williams reverted to his pre-Kansas City usage. The former UDFA caught on with the Bears and Falcons, respectively, after opting out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns. In those two seasons, however, Williams accumulated just 58 touches. A rib injury led the Falcons to place Williams on IR in September 2022 and later release him with an injury settlement.
For a third straight year, James Conner is operating as Arizona’s lead back. Not much was expected from the Cardinals’ Kyler Murray-less offense this season, but the team has played each of its four opponents close and emerged with a Week 3 upset win over the Cowboys. Conner has logged 62 carries this season, while Ingram — a second-year backup — has taken 12 handoffs. Rookie UDFA Emari Demercado (four carries) resides as the Cards’ third-stringer.
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