SANTA CLARA — Just like Fred Warner and so many other 49ers defenders, all Mykel Williams could do was watch as his rookie season came to an unsatisfying end this past January.
uncertain
season → do → end
The former 11th overall pick has been unable to help this season, stuck on the Physically Unable to Perform list even as he has painfully close to the designation no longer applying.
asserted
designation → help → list
“I’m going crazy.
asserted
I → go → ?
I’m losing my mind,” Williams said this week.
asserted
Williams → lose → mind
“I’m ready to go.
asserted
I → ’m → ?
I miss playing ball.
asserted
I → miss → ball
Knowing how banged-up we are, it’s just been killing me watching it transpire how it has been.
asserted
it → know → me
I’m ready to get back on the field.
asserted
I → ’m → field
They opened his practice window last week and will be eligible to activate him from the PUP list for the first time this week, though it’s not required.
asserted
it → open → time
But the first-round defensive lineman kind of said the quiet part out loud when he was asked about how his offseason diet, training and rehab regimen would translate on the field.
asserted
regimen → say → field
“We’ll see Sunday,” he said.
asserted
he → see → ?
“We’ll see Sunday.”
asserted
We → see → Sunday
Forget any gamesmanship that might have been thrown out the door.
uncertain
that → forget → door
No, they still won’t have Nick Bosa for at least another week.
asserted
they → have → week
But getting No. 98 back is the next-best thing to No. 97.
asserted
getting → get → .
The 49ers never really got to experience the full package of what made Williams a consensus first-rounder coming out of Georgia before he tore his ACL in Week 9.
asserted
he → get → Week
He shared the field with Bosa for only three games, which accounted for 25% of the 49ers’ season sack total.
asserted
which → share → total
He’s never gotten a chance to play for Raheem Morris.
asserted
He → get → Morris
But the 49ers defensive coordinator became plenty familiar with him as a draft prospect when he was head coach of the Falcons.
asserted
he → become → Falcons
Morris saw exactly why Williams could be so valuable in this moment for the undermanned Niners front.
uncertain
Williams → see → front
“He can play anywhere,” Morris said.
asserted
Morris → play → ?
“He’s kind of that spinner in a different way.
asserted
He → ’ → way
He can go inside, outside, do different things like that.
asserted
He → go → that
’m not sure if he couldn’t stand up.
asserted
he → ’m → ?
The potential pairing of Williams and Bosa on each edge is tantalizing to think about.
asserted
pairing → think → edge
But right now, the Niners need help anywhere they can get it.
asserted
they → need → it
And Williams can fill just about any gap.
asserted
Williams → fill → gap
In the nine games he was on the field, the 49ers yielded only 3.5 yards per carry, an improvement of 1.2 yards per carry from 2024 and 0.6 yards per carry better than their eight remaining games last year.
asserted
49ers → yield → games
But even Williams doesn’t believe that he showcased the best he has to offer as a rookie under Robert Saleh.
asserted
he → believe → Saleh
He was responsible for only one sack and four pressures after racking up 14 sacks and 21 ½ tackles for loss in three years of SEC competition.
asserted
He → rack → competition
“I wasn’t happy with what I did out there, for real,” Williams said.
asserted
Williams → say → what
“I know the type of player I am, and I don’t think I represented myself well on tape last year. …
asserted
I → know → tape
Should he play Sunday, he’ll make his return about 10 ½ months after going under the knife last Nov. 25.
asserted
he → play → knife
Bosa, who had the same procedure for the third time a short while earlier, was “great in my whole recovery,” Williams said.
asserted
Williams → have → recovery
“I was leaning on him so much.”
asserted
I → lean → him
Williams, a self-described sweet tooth, took his cues from the health-obsessed Bosa in more areas than one.
asserted
Williams → describe → one
He cut out his prized peach cobbler and ice cream in favor of protein shakes.
asserted
He → cut → shakes
Even Morris joked that he came to believe Williams was slow scouting him at Georgia because of an ankle injury that hampered his final season.
asserted
that → joke → season
He was a borderline decision to go on PUP at the end of training camp, but the 49ers wanted to make sure he was 100%.
asserted
was → go → camp
“We did what we thought was in his best interest and our team’s best interest to give him some extra time,” general manager John Lynch said in his weekly appearance on KNBR.
asserted
Lynch → do → KNBR
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia
